


A Rainbow Octave

by squiddcandy



Series: Cephalopod Concerto [1]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F, Post-Octo Expansion DLC, Synesthesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-01-05 04:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 43,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21207290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squiddcandy/pseuds/squiddcandy
Summary: Agent 8 has survived the Deepsea Metro and entered the Promised Land of Inkopolis. She's trying to adjust to her new life, but she's plagued by the feeling of being a ghost in her own head. The strange colors that mark her vision when she hears music and speech don't make her feel less weird either. Still, there's one thing she looks forward to, and that's getting to know Agent 3. But will a person from her forgotten past return to upend her new life?





	1. Chapter 1

_Bright lights and bumping beats await_  
_Get fresh, get fresh Inkopolis _  
_Who knew my hands would save your fate?_

Agent Eight sat on the curb outside of Ye Olde Clothes Shop, watching as Inklings and Octolings passed by on the busy street. It still stunned her that there would be so many people out at night. The billboards above showed bright advertisements for everything from soda to the newest fresh kicks. She'd been out here for an hour, staring at the people and the billboards, trying to get away from her thoughts. _You all go about your lives so easily, knowing who you are_, she thought to herself. What was it like to not wander aimlessly every day, to not know what to do with yourself? To know who you are?

She got up and dusted off her clothes. She needed to go somewhere else. Somewhere quieter. Eight walked through the alley and down the stairs at the end. She waited at the far end of the Central Station platform for the train. The Deepsea Metro was never very cheery looking, but it looked especially dour today, mainly because a few of the fluorescents had blown, but also because the four broken Thangs were still scattered on the floor, now covered in grime and debris. _I guess there's not really anyone to clean it up_, she thought to herself. Eight tried not to think too much about the months she'd been trapped down here as the train pulled into the station. The doors all opened with a dull thud simultaneously.

"Why hello young squire." Iso Padre greeted her as she boarded. The doors slammed shut behind her as she made her way towards the isopod. "What brings you to these dark tunnels today?"

Eight flopped into the seat next to him. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I just needed....somewhere...."

"Somewhere that you could be invisible for a while?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the Metro is certainly good for that. Would you care for some music? That's what you young people like nowadays yes?"

Eight nodded, and Iso Padre turned on his radio, the old speaker letting out a whiny protest. How that old thing got a signal down here - or worked at all for that matter - was beyond her. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back as Iso Padre found a clear channel, the mournful peals of staticky trumpets filling the train car. Ribbons of color danced behind her eyes to the music. Eight knew that if she opened her eyes, the splotches would still be there, like a moving camera filter. For some reason, every time she heard music or voices she saw odd illusions like this. She couldn't remember if it had happened before she'd been kidnapped by Kamabo or if it was a new thing that came about after she'd left. Another side effect of her time in the Metro. A thought popped into her head suddenly.

"Hey Iso Padre?" she asked, sitting up to look at him. 

"Mm?"

"I left a few of my Mem Cakes with you. Do you.... think I could have them back?" She paused, dropping her gaze to the cracks in the train car's linoleum floor for a minute. "I'm hoping that maybe if I have all of them I'll remember something, anything about my old self."

"Hmm." Iso Padre looked thoughtful for a moment before pulling a box from his suitcase. "Of course you can have them back, they are yours after all". He handed her the box. "But tell me, is that really what you want? Or are you looking through old things because you don't know how to handle the new?"

"I…" she hesitated. "I don't know. But lately I feel like I'm playing a role that belongs to someone else. Someone who may never have existed in the first place." She clutched the box. "I don't feel real sometimes. Not having memories doesn't help that."

"I understand completely," he said with a nod. 

She rode the train to the end of the line and back, listening to that old radio and watching the many unique patrons of the Metro getting on and off at each station. By the time they returned to Central Station it was well past midnight, and she waved goodbye to Iso Padre as the train doors closed and the metal behemoth departed. She looked down at the box of mem cakes in her hand and debated just throwing them onto the tracks. Was there really any point to them? They could do absolutely nothing after all. But she couldn't bring herself to do that. Not when they might be the only ticket to getting her memories back. Instead she tucked the box under her arm and left the station. 

By the time she returned to her apartment, she was exhausted. She tossed her keys and the box of mem cakes on the kitchen counter before retreating to her room. The music and billboards from the Square always left her with a headache, especially at night. Thankfully, her apartment was far enough away that she couldn't hear the music, even with the windows open. Which also meant no visions of dancing colors, or dreams of swirling ink, she thought, collapsing on her bed. 

Still, for some reason, it was too quiet. Maybe spending hours on the Metro had gotten her used to noise for the night. She sighed and picked up her phone, scrolling through messages. She didn't want company, but she didn't know what else to do. Pearl and Marina would be all worried about her, equal parts loud and mothering. She was still too geeked at having contact with the Squid Sisters to ask them over casually. Agent Four was on a mission with Cap'n Cuttlefish for once. That left…

_Three…_

Eight remembered the moment she met Agent Three with sharp clarity. She and Cap'n Cuttlefish were standing inside Commander Tartar's awful Blender. Pearl and Marina were panicking, while she and Cap'n Cuttlefish banged on the glass looking for a way out. The congratulatory music that played when the Thangs were assembled had turned chaotic and evil. They were going to die. After everything they had endured, they were going to be blended into primordial ooze for a whacked out telephone AI's hubristic act of god. And then…

** _SMASH!_ **

Everything had toppled to the side. Eight's ears were ringing, pink splotches at the edge of her blurry vision. Glass was everywhere and Commander Tartar had been knocked to the floor, along with an Inkling with yellow-green hair.

Things had moved rapidly after that, with Eight having to navigate through the Kamabo Corp facility and then having to fight Agent 3 to free her from Tartar's brainwashing goo before the final showdown with Tartar and his NILS cannon. They hadn't actually talked much since then, but Eight had been given everyone's number once they'd returned to Inkopolis. Honestly, she wanted to get to know the Inkling more. 

She stared at Agent Three's icon on her phone for a long moment and, before she could regret it, snapped off a text asking her to meet for coffee that afternoon. She shoved her face under her pillow. She had to sleep if she didn't want to be a total zombie. She would also need time to pick out clothes, and fix her hair, and -

And there was absolutely no way she was going to sleep now. With a sigh, she got up and proceeded to search her meager collection of clothes for something to wear.

***

Agent Three sat inside the Crisper Coffeehouse in Inkopolis Square. It was raining, and quite a lot of Inklings and Octolings were running about, heads tucked into hats and hoods to keep the wet off. She checked her watch. 2:15. Agent Eight said to meet at 2:30 for coffee. Three tugged on the sleeves of her Toni Kensa Negative long cuff sweater, smoothing out the wrinkles. It was the nicest thing she owned, thrown over a pair of her only decent pair of jeans. She had no idea why she'd dressed so nicely. It's not like it was a date or anything. Just coffee. But when she'd seen the text from Eight in the middle of the night, she'd ripped through her closet to find something good to wear. She caught herself tapping her foot. Why was she so nervous? _Get a grip Three,_ she told herself. The bell over the cafe's door tolled softly, but Three was too busy scanning the crowd outside to pay attention to it. 

"A-agent Three?" A soft voice said from behind her. 

Three looked up in surprise. People rarely snuck up on her. But there stood Agent Eight, soaking wet and shivering like a half drowned jellyfish. Her clothes were plastered to her brown skin and her tentacles were so wet she was actually dripping ink.

"Yeah that's me." She motioned to the jellyfish waiter for towels. "Did you _walk_ here? In the rain?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry I'm so wet."

The jellyfish came up then and handed Eight a couple of thick kitchen towels. Eight apologized to the jellyfish as she started drying herself off.

"Where's your coat?" Three asked. She felt a rising sense of concern as she surveyed the basic shirt and sweats Eight was wearing. They were hardly weather appropriate and they certainly weren't very fresh.

Eight sat down, looking embarrassed. "I don't have one."

"You don't have a coat?"

"I don't really have much of anything clothes wise."

"I -" Three began, and then paused. "Wait. Don't you know Pearl and Marina? Why the hell didn't they buy you clothes?"

Eight blushed. "I am no freeloader! They already pay for my apartment, I'm not going to ask them for more money."

"Do you understand that they're international pop stars? And Pearl is rich even without that. They have money out the ass."

Eight's eyes grew wide. "M-money cannot come from someone's - from someone's _behind_," she whispered scandalized.

Three blinked, and then burst into laughter. Right. Marina said that Octarians had a hard time with Inkling figures of speech. 

"I'm sorry, that wasn't meant to be literal. When someone has something 'out the ass', it means that they have a lot of it. Like an incredible amount of it."

"Oh. That is a very strange way to say that."

"That's fair," Three said with a snicker. "Okay, this got off to a, not a bad start per se, but definitely an awkward one. Care to start over?"

Eight sighed in relief. "Yes, please."

Three held her hand out over the table. "I don't think we were ever properly introduced. Hi, I'm Agent Three of the New Squidbeak Splatoon."

Eight shook her hand. "I am...Agent Eight. Surely Agent Three is not your real name?"

"No, but, Agent Eight isn't your real name either."

"...I don't know my real name."

_Foot, meet mouth._ "I am so sorry."

Eight shook her head and smiled. "It's okay, you didn't know. You were only teasing, yes?"

"Yeah." She let out a sheepish laugh. "Geez this might be the most awkward coffee in history."

"Yes, but who would have guessed the awkward one would be you?" Eight teased again.

Three laughed. "Okay, I deserved that. How about we skip the introductions and get some food?"

"That sounds like a great idea."


	2. Chapter 2

Eight walked into her apartment right as the sky rumbled with thunder. She kicked off her boots and set her new coat on the back of a chair to dry. She sighed at the coat, thinking back to just an hour earlier when Three had dragged her into Ye Olde Clothes. 

_"Why are we stopping in here?" She asked Three. Three started rifling through a rack of coats._

_"We're getting you a coat."_

_"I don't need a coat."_

_"You're not leaving without a coat."_

_"I don't have any money though."_

_Three gave her a trying look. "Did I say anything about money?"_

_"You can't buy me a coat!"_

_"Sure I can."_

_Eight grabbed Three's arm. "No. We only just became friends!"_

_Three sighed, placing her hand on her hip before speaking. "Look. You showed up to the cafe looking like a drowned sea horse. Which means you live at least ten minutes walk away. And the rain is only going to get worse. I cannot in good conscience let you go home without a coat. Because if I do, you're likely to get sick, and if you get sick on my watch, Marina is going to kick my ass. So, you get a coat. Now start looking for one you like."_

Eight had stood there for a moment more, too stunned to respond. Three had been so matter of fact in her speech that she'd left no room to argue. So find a coat they did. Based on the way the rain had suddenly turned into a thunderstorm, she was glad Three had insisted on it.

She tossed her keys on the kitchen counter, where they made an odd thump. She looked to see what they had hit and saw the box of mem cakes where she'd left them last night on the counter. She'd forgotten all about them. That surprised her; she'd been feeling so dejected when she'd brought them home, and yet spending the afternoon with Three had made her completely forget. 

Eight opened the small cardboard box and looked inside. The box was full of mostly Octarian related mem cakes. To be honest, she wasn't sure why she had left these particular ones with Iso Padre. The others were sitting in the freezer, ironically next to some ice cream. She hadn't eaten any of them, but she also wasn't sure if they were actually food. She rifled through the box, and came upon one shaped like an Octoling in standard Octarian gear. A poem came to mind as she picked it up and examined it.

_Though parted by the ocean deep,_  
_My oldest friend, we meet again._  
_I touch your face; you rouse from sleep._

She suddenly felt moved to eat it and, before she could think better of it, shoved it in her mouth and chewed. It was cake, much to her surprise, although terribly stale, like a convenience store cake left too long by mistake. Honestly though, it wasn't actually the worst thing she'd ever eaten. 

She waited a moment to see if anything strange would happen, but after five minutes, there was nothing. She sighed. It was a long shot anyway. She stuck the box in the freezer and went to bed. 

***

They were doing a night time training exercise. The training dome was pitch black and, for once, completely silent. Her comm clicked and pitched static before her squad leader spoke.

“Octoling Stealth Unit, number 585, number 719, move into position.”

“Roger that,” 585 whispered. She peeked over the wall she was using as cover.

Her red night vision goggles didn’t show any movement. There was a stack of wood crates three meters to the northeast. That would be her next position. Looking off to her left, she saw 719 moving into a cover position. 719 gave her a thumbs up and motioned for 585 to advance. She nodded, and rushed forward, mindful of her surroundings. As she made her next position, static filled her ear as her comm clicked on again. 

That was odd. Night exercises were often done in complete silence with minimal comm use to simulate an ambush or blackout situation. Before she could question it, her squad leader was speaking into her comm again.

“Exercise is over ladies. Fucking hell!" her leader cursed. "Somebody in planning and development went and fucked up. Goggles off! Lights are coming up.”

What the world? 585 pulled her goggles off as the dome lights kicked on. The hum of the lights filled her ears and she blinked the spots away as her eyes adjusted to the light. 719 emerged from her position, looking just as confused about the abrupt end of training as she felt.

“Why’d we end training so soon?” 719 asked as she walked towards 585.

“No clue,” 585 said with a shrug. “But I’m pretty sure 227 was talking to someone before calling it quits.”

“Where is 227 anyway?” 719 asked, glancing around.

“Listen here, you worthless son of a slug!" a familiar voice screamed from the dome's rafters. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are to be ending my training sessions, but if I catch you on the other side of this glass, you're fucking dead!” 

Their squad leader, number 227, was high above the training floor on one of the many catwalks, arguing with someone behind an observation window, and she was furious. Her ink had even changed color from black to red. 719 shuddered as the other Octoling continued to berate whoever was in the observation room. 

“Whoever pissed her off is probably going to be Salmonid chow by the time she’s through with them” 719 said cringing. “Maybe we should leave. I’d hate to be next on 227’s shit list”.

585 nodded. As the two of them made their way to the exit, 585 glanced back towards their squad leader, who had just slammed her fist into the glass window, cracking it. That glass was bulletproof. Whoever had pissed 227 off was definitely going to find themselves tied to the Abandoned Outpost on the surface, probably at high tide. With a shudder, she hurried to catch up to her teammate.

Back in the armory, 719 talked about her plans for the night as she cleaned her weapon, while 585 changed out of her training gear.

“So I think after I repair my Splatterscope I’ll go see the shadow concert tonight. Apparently it's supposed to be as wild as the one two years ago.”

“Oh that sounds fun. The one in the Valley right? I didn't see that one." She turned around, her shirt in hand, "wait, you have to repair your scope _again_? What on earth do you do with that thing that you’re constantly repairing it?” 585 teased.

719 scoffed in mock offense. “Excuse you, but I’ll have you know that I only use my scope in the manner of which we are trained!”

585 finished dressing and fixed her friend with an incredulous look.

“And I suppose I'm meant to believe that all those Inklings just ran themselves into the barrel of your rifle then? Repeatedly? No swinging in close quarters was involved at all?”

719 laughed, walking towards the weapons racks. As she followed, 585 noticed that 719’s tentacles were longer than regulation. She wondered if she would get them cut for spawning. 

"So are you gonna come to the concert with me? It's been awhile since we really let loose."

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe." 

DJ Octavio’s newest track began playing through the room as the two of them re-racked their training gear.

"Please 585!" 719 whined dramatically. "I'm just gonna be bored without you!"

585 snorted. "Alright! I'll go you big baby! But you have to do my hair!"

"Yes!" 719 exclaimed. "We're gonna rock and **_-EEP BEEP!_**"

"What?" 585 asked confused. 719 was speaking again, but the room was filled with a loud beeping noise that drowned her out.

***BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP***

Eight jolted awake, the sound of her alarm still screeching from across the room. The awful noise scattered neon green squares across her vision as she stumbled across the room. A fist to the snooze button silenced the noise and the squares in one swoop. She didn't remember setting the alarm last night. Why had it even gone off? She flopped back down onto her bed, trying to catch the tail end of the dream she had been having. Already it was fading, the details fuzzy and muted. Who was that girl? Was it just a dream or was it a memory? 

Had it come from the mem cake?

She needed to call Marina. She glanced at her clock. 6am. She would call after a few more hours of sleep.

******

"Here, try this on."

Eight gave an exasperated look to the pile of clothes being handed to her. "Marina, don't we have enough clothes?" She gestures to the pile that was already in the cart. "Surely I don't need this many."

"You only think it's a lot because you barely have any!" Marina scolded as she handed a pile of rejected clothes to a store employee.

Eight had called Marina to discuss her strange dream, but somehow she'd been roped into clothes shopping. Pearl was somewhere else in the store getting what was probably an absurd amount of shoes to go with the absurd amount of clothes Marina was having her try on. 

"Marina," she whined. "I cannot possibly accept all of these! You've been so kind to me already, I do not want to take advantage of our friendship."

Marina smiled sweetly. "You're not taking advantage okay? How do you think I got started out here? If Pearl hadn't decided to help me I wouldn't have learned anything about Inkling society. Of course we're going to help you too!" 

"Alright Rina, I got some fire footwear for our favorite agent!" Pearl walked up with an armful of shoe boxes, which were stacked precariously high. 

"Those look great Pearlie! Hey Eight! Finish trying on those clothes so you can try these shoes!"

Eight sighed and went back into the changing room. It wasn't that she disliked the clothes. On the contrary, she wanted to be fresh and cute and have many outfits. She just didn't think it was fair to take money from her friends like this. 

They spent another hour in the store trying on shoes. There were so many bags. Pearl had paid for everything, simply handing a black card to the cashier, who had been trying, very admirably she might add, not to freak out at the celebrities in front of him. Marina had snatched the receipt before Eight could try to look. Don't even think about it, she'd said, folding the very long sheet of paper into her pocket.

Trying to get the bags into her apartment was, well funny actually. There was just so many, but Pearl made it into a game to see who could carry the most bags in one trip. She won.

"Whew!" Pearl said as she flopped onto the couch. "I'm beat!"

Marina chuckled. "Well that's what happens when you carry twice your weight in bags up two flights of stairs."

Eight sat at the dining table with a sigh. "Let's not do that again."

Marina sat opposite her, looking thoughtful. "Eight," she hummed. "Now that were home, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Right. "Yes. Well. I tried one of the mem cakes last night."

Marina and Pearl both sat up straighter, eyes wide. "You did?"

"Yes, but nothing happened. Or at least, I didn't think it did."

"Did it at least taste good?" Pearl asked.

"I don't really think that's relevant." Marina intoned. Eight scrunched her nose up, remembering what it tasted like. 

"It tasted like a stale rice cracker."

"Eww, gross!"

"_Anyway_," Marina said with exaggerated patience. "You said you didn't think anything happened. Are you not sure?"

Eight shook her head. "I had a weird dream. It felt so real and vivid. I was training with another Octoling."

Marina's eyes went wide. "Do you remember her name? Maybe we can find her."

Eight shook her head. "We called each other by numbers. But she was my friend, that much I could tell."

"Aww, Eight that sucks!" Pearl replied apologetically. "Maybe the next dream you'll get her name in it so we can find her!" 

"Maybe. Marina, is that normal? The numbers thing? That's what I wanted to ask you."

"Well. Yes and no." Marina tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Field agents went by numbers to keep the enemy from knowing who the squad leaders were. I was in research and engineering, so it wasn't a big deal who knew our names because we rarely had infiltrations into the labs."

"Oh snap, so our little Eight here was a foot soldier? No wonder she battles so well!" Pearl grinned, and Eight couldn't help but grin back. 

"Do you remember the number?" Marina asked hopefully. "I might be able to look her up if I can hack back into the Octarian database."

"Um." Eight wracked her brain. She could see the Octoling's face, but the number? That she couldn't remember. 

"Well let me know if it comes back to you okay?"

Eight nodded. Pearl stood and stretched then, before pointing to the various bags scattered around the room.

"Alright," the Inkling said grinning. "How's about we get this stuff put away?"

"I can do that!" Eight protested, but Pearl was already dragging bags towards her bedroom. She sighed while Marina just laughed.

"I don't know why you even try to stop her."

"Me neither," Eight laughed, shaking her head. 

As she started to gather a few bags, Marina stopped and picked up the coat Three had bought, still hanging on the chair. 

"Where'd you get this from? We didn't buy it."

Eight blushed. "Oh, umm. Agent Three bought that for me." 

"Oh my, really? That was generous of her. I didn't know you two hung out."

"Ah, it's, uh, recent." 

"Huh." Marina murmured. She put the coat down. "Well, let's get this stuff put away shall we? Goodness knows what manner of chaos Pearl is using to organize your closet."

Eight groaned at the thought. This was going to take awhile.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a week since Three had gone for coffee with Eight. They had started texting here and there since then, but, if Three was being honest with herself, she wanted to see the Octoling again. She was not, however, being honest with herself, and it had her feeling antsy. She walked into Deca Tower and stepped into the elevator, where she selected Turf War from a screen. Below the screen was a printer, which spit out a green and white wristband bearing the Turf War logo. She needed a challenge today; hopefully there would be some good fighters out. The elevator rose to the second floor, where the first of the Spawn Point registers were. 

The Spawn Floors had 30 spawn points split between the five of them (nicknamed First, Lower, Mid, High and Upper Spawn respectively). Each stage had a spawn point large enough to stand eight people, with a screen that showed the stage itself, and the logo of the battle mode it was currently in rotation for. Two six foot tall ink canisters stood on each side of the spawn as well. When a stage was in rotation, it's corresponding spawn point would be lit up with the battle mode color, and the two canisters would be filled with the team ink colors for the round. When the team matchmaking began, competitors would stand on the spawn points, which would fill up with the ink from the two canisters. Competitors would then submerge themselves in the ink and the spawn point would register whichever color they touched first; that would be their team for the round. They would then teleport to the stage where they would wait for the battle to begin. 

It was a complicated system, but it worked, and it worked well. It was also quite different from the public spawns, which occasionally caused problems if a competitor didn't register correctly. Namely they might accidentally get teleported back to the last public spawn they used when the match began, as the Tower's teleportation frequency closed in order to keep extra players from spawning in. If you weren't properly registered, you would be considered either an illegal competitor, or a frequency error and get booted. 

The First Spawn was busy today, as it appeared all of the stages in the current rotation were on this floor. Three was regretting not going for Ranked or League. Oh well. The stages for Turf were decent, at least, being Walleye and the Pavillion. 

"Three! Hey, Three!" Someone yelled. At the far end of the room, an Inkling with bobbed yellow hair waved enthusiastically to her. 

Three suppressed a groan as the younger Inkling approached her. Agent Four was loud, annoying in that kid sister kind of way, and, worst of all, determined to be friends. It was working, but you would never hear Three say that out loud. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my least favorite nuisance." Three quipped. Four grinned.

"Well if it isn't my favorite edgy turd" she fired back. 

Three snorted. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on a mission with the old man?"

"Yeah, we got back yesterday. Cleared the whole southern outpost out of scavenging Octarians and Salmonids."

"Wait," Three said incredulously. "You got back _ yesterday _, and you're already here turfing?"

Four shrugged, leaning on her brush. "What do you want from me? Gotta keep my game up if I want the good scholarships."

"Huh. I never expected you to be the type to care about school."

Four grinned again. "Nah, I plan to be a professional turfer. But my folks said that I needed to at least get something to fall back on or they would cut me off."

That made sense. A bell chimed, signaling that matchmaking was about to begin. Four grabbed her arm and dragged her to the Spawn for Walleye. 

"Come on, let's get the teammate codes in so we can deep fry these squids together!"

***

Three had to admit she was impressed. Four was an excellent fighter. While Three hated brushes and rollers, Four was an absolute beast with her Hero Brush, and much faster than she expected. Way faster than even stacked movement modifying gear abilities could account for. The yellow inkling was actually keeping up with her and her Hero Dualies.

"On your six!" Four shouted, breaking through her thoughts. 

Three managed to dodge roll right as one of the enemy fighters used a Splashdown. She dodged back again as another enemy tried to flank her, and felt the cold steel of a shipping container at her back. _ Fuck _, she thought, tossing a bunch of Burst Bombs to keep the two enemies back. The one who'd tried to Splashdown her was laying heavy fire on her. Her chest grew tight as she lost control of her form and was splatted. 

A loud, shrill whistle called the end of the match right as Three respawned. An overhead view of the stage map appeared on a giant screen, followed by Judd and Lil Judd. Three could hear Four and their two teammates cheering from their positions as Judd raised their flag. They had won, with Three and Four having over 10 enemy splats each. 

Back in the First Spawn, the others from their match congratulated them.

"Man, you guys are amazing!"

"I didn't know Brushes could be that fast, what's your gear set up?"

"I can't believe it took two of us and the entire match to finally splat you!"

"Aww, shucks guys, twasn't nothing!" Four said sheepishly. 

Three murmured a few thanks, mentally kicking herself for getting cornered like that. What if Eight had been spectating? How embarrassing. She needed to do some more training. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey Three?"

"Huh?" Three said looking up. The others had gone, leaving only Four, who was watching her with a worried expression.

"Are you alright? You've _ never _ been that distracted during a match before."

"Uh." Three hesitated. How much should she tell her? There was no reason not to trust Four. But still…

"Three?"

"Right. Fuck. Um. Sorry. Don't worry about it okay? I'm good."

Four eyed her skeptically. "Is it like, a boy or something?"

"Umm. I'm a lesbian," Three blurted, causing Four to blush and apologize. Three started walking towards the elevator, hoping that would put a stop to the questions. It did not. 

"Okay, so is it a _ girl _ or something?" Four paused, thinking. "Are you in debt to the mafia?"

"I - the _ what _?"

"Come on, you know, the mafia! Dudes with thick accents, sitting in big chairs, at big desks, in a dark room, smoking cigars." They got into the elevator. "Hired goons? _ 'He's sleepin wit da fishes' _or something."

Three stopped and gave her the most _ what the fuck _ look she could manage. Four just flashed a shit eating grin as the elevator opened to the main floor of the Tower. Three rolled her eyes and walked off the elevator…

...and right into Eight.

"Oh, excuse me!" Eight apologized before realizing who ran into her. She smiled brightly when she recognized them. "Three! Four! Hello!"

"Hiya Eight!" Four chirped. "Come for some Turf War?"

"Oh, no, not today." She gestured to a screen that showed the most recent match results. "I saw on the screen over there that you two won your match! I was coming to congratulate you!"

"Aww, Eight! Aren't you sweet as sugar!" She elbowed Three. "Isn't that sweet Three?"

Three, who had been staring hard at Eight, snapped back to reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Super sweet." _ Holy shit Three, get yourself together you useless lesbian _, she thought to herself.

"Oh, I know!" Eight said clapping her hands together. "Are you hungry? I bet you are right after a match! It is socially acceptable to buy food for friends after matches yes?"

"Heck yeah it is!" Four said pumping her fist.

"Heck yeah!" Eight chirped, copying Four's gesture. Cod, she was so _ cute _. She turned to Three. "You look tired Three! Why don't you pick lunch? I will pay!"

"Me?" She said stupidly. "Uh." _Quick Three, think, think!_ "How about the Crust Bucket?"

"Okay! I'll go get in line while you two put your weapons away!" 

Three sighed in relief when Eight ran back outside. Four snickered. Three glared at her.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Three, do you...have a crush on Eight?"

Three blushed. "I do not have a _ crush _. That's juvenile." She collapsed the grips on her Dualies so that they would fit in her coat. "And what's it to you anyway?" 

"Now, now, no need to get all flustered!" Four said with a laugh.

"Fuck you."

"Nah, save that energy for Eight."

"I will literally kill you right now."

That made Four laugh even more as she folded her weapon up. "Is that what had you so distracted up there? Thinking about your beau?"

"She's not my-" Three huffed in exasperation. "Ugh, look, I don't even know if she _ likes _ me. And honestly like, she's kind of still adjusting? She needs a good friend more than anything else."

"True, but that doesn't mean you can't still like, court her or anything."

"Court her? Court. How old are you?" Three's phone chimed. It was a text from Eight. It read, '_ Hurry up before I eat your food! _' followed by a picture of her posing with drinks and food from Crusty Sean's food truck.

"Come on, she's got the food." Three darted from the lobby, Four at her heels.

"I still think you should ask her out," Four said as they made their way across the Square.

"I think you should drop it."

Four shrugged and waved to Eight, who had found them a table. 

"I call dibs on the Super Seanwich!" Four shouted. She grabbed the largest sandwich and began eating. 

"So Eight," Four said between chews. "You got any plans today?" 

"Not really," Eight said, sipping her drink. Three was pretty sure it was a mocha or something, as she could smell the chocolate. "I was hoping to finally check out Grizzco today, but it seems they're closed."

"It's well and good they are. That job isn't exactly ...ethical." Three murmured.

"Still, I need some way to make money."

"You could play turf wars like I do," Four said between bites. 

"Ah, no, I cannot." Eight said dejectedly. Three and Four glanced at each other. Why wouldn't she be able to turf?

"If it's weapons you're worried about, they have rentals in the Tower."

Eight shook her head. "I have weapons. Well, I have a weapon."

"So then…?" Four asked.

Eight dropped her head before answering. "I spent so much time battling in the Metro, and none of the Sanitized Octarians ever survived an encounter with me… I don't think I could stand anymore fighting like that."

"What do you mean, 'fighting like that'? You're kinda acting like you killed somebody" Four said. Eight flinched at her words.

Three's eyes widened as she realized what the problem was. "Oh my cod, Eight, _ no _. No one dies in Turf War!"

"Wait, what?" Four said, eyes wide. Eight looked up too, confusion written in her eyes.

"Eight, listen," Three grabbed the octoling'shand from across the table. "No one dies. We have Spawn Points! Like, hundreds of them. There's a bunch around the Square, there's two on each location we play matches on, hell, even Grizzco has miniature ones that you carry as part of your gear. _ No one dies _."

"Truly? There is… it is safe?" Eight looked like she was about to cry. 

"Holy shit, have you seriously thought all this time that we just went around killing each other for sport?" Four asked, horrified. 

"I-I don't know what I thought, I-" Eight stammered. She started crying. Four shot a panicked expression to Three, mouthing 'what do we do?'

Three shook her head, and then did the only thing she could think of: she got up and hugged Eight. 

"Okay!" She said, in what she hoped was a soothing voice. "It's okay, calm down!"

She patted the octoling's head, glancing at Four who seemed just as spooked as she was. Slowly, Eight calmed down, rubbing her face and sniffling.

"I am sorry, that was very unbecoming of me."

"Uh, it's fine. Are you okay now?" Four asked.

Eight nodded and glanced up at Three. "Thank you Three, for soothing me. It was incredibly kind of you."

"Of course," she squeaked. She swallowed thickly, her mouth suddenly dry as her hearts beat triple time. Eight was looking at her so seriously, eyes soft, cheeks rosy, and the sunlight hitting her. The image would probably be burned into her memory forever. Three was sure she would die if Eight kept looking at her that way. 

"Yeah, it was no problem at all." She said, and went back to her seat, gulping her drink. She glanced at Four who had an unreadable expression.

"Ya know what? It's been a long day, let's all go home" Four declared. She stood up and held her hand out to Eight with a friendly smile. "Thanks a lot for the food Eight! Let's go Three."

"Wait-," Three began, casting a worried glance at Eight. Four grabbed her arm. 

"_ Let's go Three _." She turned to Eight. "You can get home okay, right Eight?"

Eight nodded. "Yes, I will be fine. I think going home would be a good idea too."

Four then pulled on Three's arm, forcing her to stand, startling the older inkling with her strength. _ Since when does she have a grip? _

"Okay, text one of us when you get home. Come on Three."

Three started to protest again, but Four picked that moment to fucking super jump, forcing Three to take her squid form or risk having her arm ripped off. 

"What the hell Four?" She snapped once they landed on a roof. 

"What the hell me? What the hell _ you _ . Why did she think playing Turf War _ kills _ people?"

"Because of what she dealt with in the Metro."

Four glared at her. "Yeah, that doesn't mean fuck all to me. Neither you nor Cap'n Cuttlefish or Off the Hook actually gave any details about what happened down there."

Three sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, I get you're mad, but it's fucking _ months _ worth of bullshit, and that's just what I went through. I wasn't even with her most of the time."

"What? Where were you then?"

Three threw her hands up. "Trying not to get killed myself! The tests and shit were run by some dickfuck company called Kamabo Corp. I was investigating it because they captured us in the Canyon. And their security was _ tight _."

Four's expression was pensive. "You said tests?"

Three sighed. "Yeah. Tests to determine the skill and fitness level of the test subjects. It was…" Three shuddered. "It was awful. And the main subjects were Octarians."

Four's eyes went wide. "Cod. She had to kill her own people to get out?"

Three nodded. "That's why I figured out why she didn't want to play Turf War. She has barely any memories from before the Metro. So she wouldn't have known the difference."

The two stood in silence for a moment, watching the sun set. Then Four turned back to Three, a worried expression on her face.

"Three, have you like, talked to anyone about what you saw? Or just how you feel?"

Three grimaced. "No. Not even gramps knows what I saw because he was with Eight the entire time."

"Maybe you should."

"Yeah," Three said, turning back to the sunset. "Maybe."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a short one. I tried to make it longer but it just didn't want to work with me no matter how many times I edited it! It means I can start on the next chapter sooner though!

Eight tossed and turned in her bed that night. Was it true what Three had said? That no one died in Turf Wars in Inkopolis? It didn't make sense. She'd said there were spawn points everywhere. But the ones in the Metro were limited in how many times they revived you. How did that work in a city like Inkopolis? There were too many people! The spawns would be exhausted by midday. And then Four….

She recalled the yellow Inkling's horrified expression.  _ "Have you seriously thought all this time that we just went around killing each other for sport?" _

Truthfully, she hadn't known what to think. They had turned a battle dynamic into a game and a fashion contest after all. They could reproduce relatively easily. And they sent out children on dangerous solo missions! Well, she couldn't really argue that last point overmuch. The Octarian military started training and recruitment as young as six after all. 

Eight sighed. She should probably apologize to Four. It was a rather heinous idea that the Inklings would truly be so violent, and she had first hand experience of their kindness after all. She picked up her phone, only to be startled by an incoming message. It was from Four.

_ "Hey, sorry for freaking out on you earlier. I know you don't really think we're like that." _

Eight was confused. Why was Four apologizing to her? Another message popped up, this time from Three. 

_ "Hey, are you okay? How are you feeling?" _

_ "Fine", _ she typed.  _ "Actually, I am confused. Four apologized to me but I do not understand why. Was I not the one who made a grievous assumption?" _

_ "Nah." _ Three replied.  _ "I mean, you were only working off the limited information you had. And we didn't exactly explain it to you before now. Four understands that." _

Eight shook her head in disbelief. What could have changed her mind so easily?

Three messaged her again.  _ "Anyway, make sure that you tell Four you guys are okay. She's been fretting since we split ways." _

_ "Okay."  _ She replied. Then she switched to Four's message. _ "Thank you for the apology. I apologize too. I realize my assumption was terrible. I hope we can still be friends?" _

_ "Yes, we're still friends!!!"  _ Four messaged back.  _ "Maybe we can show you a proper turf war match sometime, so you can see how safe it is!" _

Well. She wasn't so sure about that. Still, her spirit felt a little lighter. Her stomach then took that opportunity to growl. A snack then. Scrounging through her fridge produced a slice of pizza and a bottle of Krill Kola. She opened the freezer for some ice and spotted the box of mem cakes. Would she have another dream if she ate one? Maybe getting another memory back would keep her from making foolish assumptions…

She sorted through them while her pizza was in the microwave. She could've sworn there had been one of a Spawn point. But she couldn't find it. Not even in the box that had the Octarian mem cakes. Damn. She considered the Octarian cakes. That was more of her past than the others right? Maybe starting there was the right choice anyway. She picked up DJ Octavio's mem cake. It was a bit larger than the others, which made sense considering how large he actually was. 

_ I leave without ceremony. _

_ Don't be too sore I wanted more. _

_ My sincerest apology _ .

Her pizza beeped and she shoved the box back in the freezer. DJ Octavio's cake went on the plate with her pizza slice. An hour later, Eight was shoving her face into her pillow, properly exhausted. Sleep was definitely a good idea now.

***

DJ Octavio was battling an Inkling. The crowd cheered around 585, who was watching with rapt attention. The yellow tentacled Inkling had wild battle tactics, dodging and shooting in what could only be described as controlled chaos. It was impressive; 585 had no idea Inklings could fight like that. DJ Octavio and the Squid Sister Callie were blasting fresh beats hand in hand with ink.

Suddenly, the music cuts out as another voice fills the stadium. A large flying truck careens through the air, its giant speakers echoing over the crowd. 585 sees the other Squid Sister Marie on the truck and watches as she fires a shot of ink from her Splatterscope at Callie, knocking off her hypno shades. The crowd of Octarians cheer as the battle rages on. The Yellow Inkling attacked DJ Octavio again, and Callie takes that moment to return to Marie’s side. What are they going to do? Team up with the Inkling? The truck drops a new weapon -  _ a Rainmaker _ , 585 noticed - to the Inkling. As the battle starts anew, the Squid Sisters start singing together.

_ Ya weni marei... _

***

Something about the song riveted 585. This can’t be all there is to life, she thought. Watching the Inkling fight so fervently for the Great Zapfish was inspiring. The poor Zapfish didn’t deserve to be trapped in glass anyway. 585 shoved her belongings into a bag, the song still echoing in her head. There had to be more,  _ there had to be more _ . She glanced over at 719, sleeping in the bed nearby and stopped packing for a moment. 

719 had loved the concert and battle, but she didn’t seem to have felt the same shift that 585 had. She didn't seem to realize how everything had changed. She walked over to the other Octoling’s bed, watching her sleep for a moment. She gently brushed 719’s hair from her face, doing her best to memorize her best friend’s features. After all, she probably wouldn’t ever see her again.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered, holding back tears. She grabbed her pack as 719 started to stir. 

"585...?" The Octoling murmured. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Damn. 

"Shh," she whispered. "Go back to sleep. I'm just running to the bathroom."

"With a pack?"

585 hesitated. If she told the truth she would be stopped, and possibly realigned with DJ Octavio's frequency. 

"I-" she began.

"Don't leave." 719 gave her a pleading look. "The fight two years ago, a bunch of people left afterwards. Please don't leave."

"I can't stay here, I-" her voice cracked. Why didn't 719 understand? The two stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Finally, 719 got up with a sigh.

"Go," she said, voice quivering. "I'll cover you."

"719-"

"The guard shift will be changing soon. That's the only chance you have to get out of here unnoticed."

Sneaking through the halls was a challenge. Security was heightened after the battle, with multiple rotations of guards. Still, they made there way through the kettles until they came to a large pipe that emptied into Octo Valley. A cold wind blew through, carrying the scent of brine.

"We're near the sea?" 585 asked. She suppressed a shiver as the wind picked up more. 

"The coast isn't too far from here. You'll have an easier time super jumping from there."

She turned back to 719. Her face was sullen, eyes glossy with unshed tears.  _ Just come with me. Please. _ She started to speak, but 719 shook her head no. She wasn't coming with her.

"Good bye 719" she said at last.

"Good luck out there."

With that she leapt down from the pipe and began running. She told herself the water on her face was just rain.


	5. Chapter 5

Three's phone woke her up. Not surprising, as her ringtone was the latest Bottom Feeders single and that shit was loud. She glanced at the clock, the red numbers flashing 06:00. Who the fuck was calling her so early? The song stopped abruptly; Three dropped her head back onto her pillow with a sigh. Maybe she could still get back to sleep. 

_ Or not _ , she thought as the ringing commenced again. A glance at the caller ID said that it was Eight. 

Wait…

Eight? Calling her? 

"Hello?" She said, trying to sound awake. She heard a sniffle. 

"Umm, I know it is early," Eight said, her voice watery. Was she crying? Three sat up fully alert now.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Oh, this is going to sound so stupid…"

"Eight, just tell me what's going on."

Eight sniffled and sighed before speaking again. 

"Can you come over? I- I had a nightmare and I don't think I can handle being alone right now."

"I'm on my way."

An hour later, she was knocking on Eight's door. The building hadn't been hard to find, a six story in a modest neighborhood ten minutes from the train station. Three wondered how much arguing Eight had done with Pearl to get this place over one of her family's crazy mansions. The pop star had the worst ideas about what constituted cheap. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging open. Eight stood in the doorway, wearing an oversized sports jersey and shorts, and fluffy zapfish slippers. Her tentacles were loose around her face instead of in her usual ponytail, and her eyes were puffy and glassy, like she'd been crying. 

"Hi Three."

"Hey," she replied, stepping inside. 

She looked around the apartment. It was very clean, except the couch, which was covered in blankets. She could see the kitchen off to the right, and a hallway to the left, presumably to the bathroom and bedroom. She placed her bag on the kitchen counter and turned back to Eight, who was hovering in the doorway. 

"Nice place you got here."

"Thank you."

Three turned back to Eight, who looked miserable, and held out her arms. "Come here, you look like you need a hug." 

Eight rushed to her, burying her face in Three's shoulder with a whimper. Three hugged her tightly, rocking her slightly. 

"You wanna talk about it?" Eight shook her head no. "Okay, well, let me unpack my bag. I got some good shit in there, guaranteed to make you feel better."

Eight straightened up with a sniffle, glancing at the bag curiously. Three started pulling things out of it. 

"Okay, so, we've got movies! All kinds of movies. Action, cheesy romcoms, a couple of musicals, like, one drama I think. I didn't know if you drank, so I just bought soda. Uh, what else, oh yeah, ice cream! Can't have a feel better day without ice cream. Brownies. Whipped cream and sprinkles and chocolate syrup because, hey, ice cream."

"You brought all of this for me?" Eight said in shock. Three glanced at her, slightly startled. 

"Yeah? That's what friends do, they do nice things for each other." She said as she put the food in the fridge. "And when you're upset, they do extra nice things like bring junk food, and crappy movies."

"So now what do we do?"

Three held up one of the movies. "Pop one of these babies in and laze around all day."

Eight smiled a little. "Is it not too early for ice cream?"

Three shrugged. "You like pancakes?" 

Eight smiled for real then.  "Very much so, yes."

***

The two of them spent the morning watching movies, mostly comedies and the "cheesy romcoms" as Three had put it. Three had made a stack of pancakes, along with eggs and bacon. Eight had barely had time to dwell on the mem cake dream, the feelings of guilt and loneliness assuaged, however momentarily, by Three and her humor and commentary on the movies they watched. Three held up another movie.

"Okay, so this one is a musical, that's a remake of an ancient human musical."

"Really? How did they do that?"

"Some scientists found like, a whole bunch of plastic cases full of discs, and decided to see if they still worked. And they did! The quality was crap, but you could hear it and tell what was going on. So a few adventurous directors and screenwriters decided to remake them."

"That's amazing! What is this one called?"

"Squiddy Poppins."

She put the movie in and settled back on the couch under the mountain of blankets. Eight slowly snuggled up to her, and felt Three stiffen as she did so. She held her breath, wondering if she should move, but then Three relaxed. Eight sighed happily, as one of the actors began singing a somber melody. It was a pale purple color, like lavender in the wind. She liked it a lot.

"Hey Eight?"

"Hmm?"

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way but, why did you call me? Ya know, instead of Marina and Pearl."

"Oh. Umm." She bit her lip thoughtfully. Why had she called Three? "You rescued me before. I guess you were the first person I thought of when I needed a little rescuing again."

" _ Oh _ ," was all Three said in response, her cheeks turning pink.

At some point Eight fell asleep, dreaming of singing squids and pastel colors. She woke up alone on the couch, mainly because she was sweating under the thick pile of blankets over here. She looked around. Where was Three? 

The sound of water running from the kitchen caught her attention, along with...singing? She quietly untangled herself from the blankets and made her way to the kitchen. Three was busy washing the dishes, and yes, singing one of the songs from Squiddy Poppins. Her voice was a soft, dark green, like an emerald on black velvet. 

_ Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee _

_ A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be _

_ Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-oo _

_ Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you _

_ Or blow me a kiss _

_ And that's lucky too _

"I did not know you could sing Three."

Three jumped and cursed, nearly dropping the plate she'd been washing. 

"Cods, Eight, you scared the shit outta me."

Eight bit back a laugh. "Sorry."

"How long you been standing there?"

"Not very long. Did you know your voice is green?"

"Green?"

"Yes, like an emerald."

Three shot her a confused look as she dried her hands off. "Um, okay. Never heard that before."

"Really? Is that not what is meant by a song being 'fresh'? Its color?"

"No? They mean it sounds cool. Most people don't… _ see _ songs."

"Oh." Eight looked down at her feet, feeling incredibly awkward. Three must think she's a weirdo now. 

"Hey, that's pretty cool though!" Three said, grinning. "Is it just music that has colors? Or like, all sound?"

Eight looked up, startled by the question. "You want to know about it? You do not think I'm weird?"

"What? No way, it sounds cool as hell."

Three reached out and gently pinched her cheeks. "Stop thinking everybody is suddenly gonna abandon you. We like you! You have friends! You're a nice person!"

Eight made a face and swatted Three's hands away. "Stop pinching!"

Three tugged on her tentacles, grinning. "Smile! Please? We had a good day so far right? Besides, you're so damn pretty when you smile."

Eight blushed at the compliment, her hearts beating against her chest. Three was leaning so close, and she smelled like pancakes, and Eight suddenly had the overwhelming urge to kiss her and see if she tasted like syrup. Three seemed to realize how close she was standing and quickly stepped back. She cleared her throat before speaking again.

"Anyway, you never answered my question."

"Question?"

"Yeah, about the color thing."

Oh. Right, that had been what they were talking about before wasn't it. 

"Right. What was the question again?"

"How about we get lunch first?" Three asked, pulling one of the take-out menus from her draw and waving it. "Then I'll pester you with questions. Sound good?"

Eight nodded, and they began looking over the menu. The food arrived about an hour later, and as promised, Three started her round of questions.

"Okay so," Three said, slurping the noodles she'd ordered. "Is it all sounds or just music?"

"I think it is all sounds?" Eight said between bites of a burger. "My alarm makes ugly squares, and rain is colorful static."

"That sounds like it would get annoying fast." 

"Yes, it does."

Three grimaced. "Oh man, the Square must be a nightmare for you." 

Eight nodded. "That's part of why I picked this apartment. I cannot hear the Square from here. I would never sleep otherwise."

"Yeah, I bet." Three tapped her fingers on the table thoughtfully. "Do you have headphones or something?"

Eight shook her head no. She'd seen plenty of Inklings and even some Octolings wearing them but she didn't really know what they were for besides an accessory.

"Okay, next time we go out, we'll find you a good noise cancelling pair."

"Noise cancelling?"

"Yeah, they block out noise, hence the name."

" _ That's _ what they're for?" Eight asked incredulously. They didn't look thick enough for such a task.

"Well, they're mainly for playing music, but some of them block outside noise too."

Three took one look at Eight's skeptical expression and laughed. "Headphones are mini speakers."

"Like comm devices?" 

"I guess? They usually have microphones these days too, so I guess yeah."

Eight shook her head and sighed, focusing back on her lunch. "The things I miss because I do not ask enough questions!"

Three laughed. "What do you  _ do _ all day if no one is showing you around or how stuff works?"

"Marina and Pearl have shown me some things," Eight replied defensively.

"Okay, but not headphones, or friggin Turf War?"

Eight blushed. "Do not blame them. They have their own lives and there is little reason to spend it excessively on me."

"I highly doubt they would agree with that."

"Well I did not ask you!" Eight shouted, slamming her hands on the table. 

Three put her hands up placatingly. Clearly she had struck a nerve. "Hey, I'm sorry. I know you're trying not to be a burden on them okay? But they want to help you! You know that right?"

"They get nothing back from me."

"Eight- "

"I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Eight cried.

The two of them sat in silence for several minutes before Three spoke again.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I don't know." Eight whispered.

Three sighed. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."

Eight nodded. "I accept your apology." She eyed the freezer. "Can we have ice cream?"

Three grinned. "Yeah, of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the bit of fluff in this chapter! Next chapter may have a bit more action in it!


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay, now remember, this is a private battle, so you won't have to worry about any random battlers."

Eight nodded at Three, trying to look less worried. They were going up the elevator in Deca Tower, yellow Private Battle bands on their wrists. They had reserved two stages on the High Spawn floor to make sure it stayed out of the regular rotation. 

"Who else is going to be there besides the two of us and Four?"

"Well, Marina and Pearl said they would come, but I don't know about the other two."

"Other two?" Eight asked as the elevator doors opened. 

They stepped out onto the floor, and Eight immediately spotted Four, who was chatting with two Inklings who looked very familiar. One had long black hair, and wore a pink beanie and hoodie, while the other had short gray hair, and a green jacket over a black tunic dress. They almost looked like….

"The Squid Sisters?!" Eight squeaked. Three grinned at her.

"Yeah, they don't get to do Turf War that often, being celebrities and all, so I invited them."

"Hey Eight!" Four called out with a wave. The Squid Sisters turned around then too. Callie flashed a big grin at them.

"Agent Three! Long time no see!" She turned to Eight then. "And who's this? One of the freed Octolings?"

Three nodded. "Yup. This is Agent Eight. She's the one that Gramps helped down in the Deepsea Metro."

Callie's eyes went wide. "Oh snap! I've heard a lot about you!" She grabbed Eight's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you!"

Eight simply stood there in shock. Here were her idols, standing right in front of her. 

"I-I saw you with DJ Octavio," was all she managed to say.

"Oh man, really?" Callie laughed. "Wow, so you're a recent ship jumper huh?"

"Oh Callie, I think you broke her." Marie said, walking up to them. She flashed a coy grin to Eight. "What's up gorgeous? You a fan of ours, yeah?"

Eight let out a helpless squeak in response. She could hear Three and Four snickering behind her, but she didn't know what else to do. She'd rehearsed what she would say to Marie if she ever met her in person, but it had all gone out of her head the moment she'd seen her. 

"WHAT'S UP Y'ALL!" Someone screamed from behind them. 

Eight knew that voice anywhere and sighed in relief as Pearl bounded up to their group, Marina following right after.

"Good morning everyone," Marina said. Eight quickly ducked behind the older Octoling, who simply patted her on the head. 

"Hey, it's Off the Hook! Are you guys joining us today?" Four asked. 

"Heck yea!" Pearl said. " _ Fresh squids, fresh kids - laying down ink, which team will rise, which will sink? _ " She rapped.

"Speaking of teams," Marie said, pulling out a charger and leaning on it, "How are we splitting this up?"

"Oh yeah, especially because we're an odd number right?" Marina said. 

Eight looked around. They  _ were _ an odd number group, with four idols and three non-idols. One team was going to be short a member.

"Let's do idols versus agents!" Four chimed. 

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Callie cheered. 

Marina held her hand out. "Wait a second. It's Eight's first time doing Turf War. I'm not sure if she even has a decent weapon to use."

"Aww, come on Marina, you worry too much! Besides," Four quipped, "Three fights so good, she's basically two people!"

Three snorted. "I can't exactly take off my limiter on official stages Four."

"Come on, let's gooooo" Pearl whined. "We've seen both Eight  _ and _ Three fight, Marina! She'll be fine! Now let's get her a rental weapon and start this thing up!"

Everyone except for Marina and Eight congregated on the Spawn point for Humpback Pump Track. Marina turned to Eight and gave her a concerned look.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"I think so. I am just worried. How can I trust that the spawns will not run out?"

Marina shook her head. "This isn't the Metro. This isn't even Octo Canyon or the Valley. They never run out." She smiled then. "Now let's go find you a decent weapon."

Eight followed Marina to a weapons rack. She wanted to believe Marina. She had wanted to believe Three's words from before as well. No one dies. But despite the casual excitement of the others, she still couldn't bring herself to believe that there wasn't a limit. Marina turned from the weapons racks holding a red blaster. 

"Okay, so, I know you're only really used to the Octo Shot," Marina said. "But Three uses a Hero Shot and Four uses a brush. That means you have a midrange, and a short range weapon on your team." Marina handed the gun to Eight. "So for balance, I picked a long range weapon. This is the Rapid Blaster Deco. It's got a Suction Bomb sub, and Inkjet special."

"Thank you Marina," Eight replied looking over the weapon. It was heavier than her old Octo Shot, but not prohibitively so. She could work with it. 

"Come on you two!" Pearl called. 

Eight looked back, seeing everyone standing ready with their weapons. Pearl had her Splat Dualies, Callie had a Hero Roller, Marie held her Hero Charger, Three her Hero Shot, and Four wielded a Herobrush. It was a bit startling to see so many specialized weapons at once. Sheldon really outdid himself. 

"You ready?" Marina asked as she pulled out her Splat Brella.

Eight took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, let's go."

Three, Four and Eight Spawned on the right side of Humpback Pump Track. Eight looked around in awe.

"This is huge!" 

Four grinned. "Yeah it's great innit? You should see when the place is full!"

"Okay you two, let's focus," Three said seriously. "Eight, the objective is to lay as much ink on the ground as possible. Walls don't count towards the score, but it helps to ink them if you need to retreat."

"What if I run into the others?"

"Fight or retreat." Three gave her a soft look that made her hearts flutter. "You don't have to attack anyone if you don't want to."

"Yeah, we'll be in range of you for the most part," Four interjected. A loud horn went off above them signaling the start of the match. Four flashed a wild grin. "Let's go get em girls!"

"Ink around the spawn and the upper level before hitting the main track!" Three shouted, as she leapt forward.

Eight checked her map and saw what Three had meant by the upper level. It didn't look like there was an easy way up from the main area, so it was a good place to start. As she worked, she kept looking across the stage to see how her friends were doing. Four swung her Herobrush with rapid speed, pounding Marina's Brella with ink. Three was throwing Burst Bombs at Pearl, who was trying to dodge roll into her blind spot. She didn't see the Squid Sisters anywhere though. 

"Pick up the pace missy!" Someone shouted to her. Eight looked over the ledge to see Callie, holding her Roller. 

"Come down here and give me a proper fight!"

"No way!"

"Yes way! Come on, we're kicking your asses out here!" Callie jumped and flung a column of ink at her. Eight dodged and ran the other direction. 

"Hey! Come back here!" 

"Catch me!" Eight called back, leaping down to the main track. 

She started inking as she ran, keeping an eye on the center of the stage. Four was now focusing on inking, as the stage was mostly covered in the green ink the idols team had chosen. She spotted Marie, trying to snipe Three, who was now at it with Marina as well. 

"Three, watch out!" She called. Three looked up just in time to catch Marie's ink to the face, getting splatted. 

Eight felt her hearts stop.  _ Oh no, oh no _ , she thought. Then she saw Three's ink ghost fly off to the Spawn. She sighed in relief. Three would probably respawn shortly. 

"Gotcha!" Callie said right as she splatted Eight.

_ That was stupid _ , she thought as she respawned. It was downright amateurish to get caught in the back like that. And by a  _ roller _ , no less. Eight spotted Four's ink ghost coming in fast, but she had no time to wait, as they needed to make a comeback. Three was already down in the main area, trying to recover some ground. Eight, determined, super jumped to her, shooting as she landed. 

"Now we're talking!" Pearl called out as she dodge rolled under Eight's shots. 

Eight and Pearl traded shots, while Three tossed bombs at Marina and Marie who were positioned on a ledge.  _ She really is as good as two people _ , Eight thought, ducking into her ink and swimming back. She needed space from Pearl, who was faster than she had anticipated. 

"We're pumped up on the Pump Track! Idols smack back at Agents ink tracks!" Pearl sang as she tossed Burst Bombs at Eight.

"Go easy on her Pearl!" Marina called out.

"Not a chance!"

Eight inked her way across the stage, dodging Pearl's Dualies and Burst Bombs. 

"Come on Eight! I know you can do better than this!" Pearl said before diving into her own ink. The horn for one-minute mark sounded.

Eight ducked behind a pillar to catch her breath. She needed a plan. She checked the stage map, noting Three and Four were both rapidly inking the map, although the others were pushing back again. A burst bomb went flying past her.

"Come on Eight! Let's rumble!" Pearl called out from behind her. 

"Fine! Here I come!" Eight shot back. She tossed a Suction Bomb to drive Pearl back, and ran out shooting. Pearl laughed as she dodged back, shooting and rolling at a pace that was hard to match. Eight felt her movements slowly as she got covered in ink, but she couldn't let up or Pearl would get the upper hand again. 

She dove down into her ink briefly to recover, but Pearl threw a burst bomb on top of her, forcing her up. She shot wildly, trying to get enough of her own ink under her to run while also keeping Pearl back. 

_ Click Click. _

_ Shit _ , she thought as her ink tank hit empty.

"Aww, sorry about this Eight!" Pearl said, pointing her Dualies at the Octoling. Eight flinched, waiting to be splatted.

" ** _VIBE CHECK_ ** !" 

Pearl and Eight looked up just as Four landed from her super jump, slamming the bristles of her Herobrush into Pearl's face in the same motion. Pearl was splatted instantly, and a loud whistle sounded, ending the match.

"Whew! I thought I'd be too late!" The Inkling said with a grin. She helped Eight to her feet. "You alright?"

Eight sighed as the score was tallied on a giant screen above the stage. "She's so fast! I did not think I would ever get away from her."

Four laughed. "She's tiny, so speed is her biggest asset. Bet you'll know better next time, yeah?"

Eight nodded, and looked back to the screen in shock. 

"We- we won?" She muttered in disbelief. The score was 50.07 percent to 49.93 percent. They had beaten out Pearl and her team by only a few points, but they had _won_.

Four turned to look at the screen and let out a whoop. "Aww yeah! We won!  _ WOOMY _ !" She turned to Eight and held her hand up. "Come on! High five!"

"High five?" Eight asked confused. 

"Yeah! Here, like this," Four said, grabbing Eight's hand and slapping it against her own in a sort of clap. It was a little silly, but Eight realized that Four seemed to like a lot of things that were a little silly. They walked back to the Spawn point, where Three was waiting for them. 

"Good job ladies," Three said, a small smile on her face. "We definitely need a proper strategy the next time we battle them though."

"Oh for sure," Four replied. They returned to Deca Tower, along with the four idols.

"You guys were great!" Callie said once they'd all gathered. 

"Yeah, I can't believe you guys managed to beat us." Marie said. "Pearl certainly seemed determined to take your head off there Eight."

"Yes, she certainly was," Marina hissed, glaring at Pearl. The shorter inkling shrugged nonchalantly.

"Come on Marina, anyone else would've gone after her with as much vigor! Noobs are like blood in the water to a shark, everybody can sniff em out!"

"This was supposed to just get her used to the game!" Marina yelled. Pearl grimaced and pulled Marina to the side, where she said something in a hushed tone.

"Oh dear. Well, I think that's our cue to leave Callie" Marie said. She turned back to Eight, Four and Three. "Well, thanks for inviting us! This was actually pretty fun. We should do it again sometime."

"Yeah, it was great to get back on the field for a bit!" Callie chimed. She grabbed Eight's hand and gave her a gentle look. "And you, miss Eight, I hope we'll see you more often! It was so nice to meet you under better circumstances."

Eight blushed. "Y-yeah…" she stuttered. The Squid Sisters waved before disappearing into the elevator.

"Actually, I should get going too," Four said. She hefted her Herobrush onto her shoulder. "I got homework to finish, but this was freaking awesome. We definitely should make this a regular thing."

Three rolled her eyes. "That sounds an awful lot like you trying to rope us into your professional turf team. Again."

"Hey, it was worth a shot," Four said with a laugh. "Check ya later!" 

Eight watched as Four bounced her way to the elevator, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find Pearl, arms folded, pouting angrily. Marina stood behind her, wearing a sour expression.

"I'm sorry about my poor sportsmanship Eight." Pearl droned. 

"It's okay," Eight said. "I forgive you. Besides, you took a mean hit to the face from Four."

Pearl smirked and rubbed her cheek. "Yeah, that girl has a fucking swing on her, doesn't she?"

"Do you feel a little better about Turf War at least?" Marina asked. Eight nodded.

"I still don't trust the spawns very much, but at least I know that they do work."

"That's a start." Marina sighed. "Alright, well I think we're going to head home. I'm tired."

Eight looked to Three. "Should we go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, I could use some grub."

"Hey," Pearl said, casting a suspicious eye between the two of them. "You two have been hanging out an awful lot, haven't you?"

Three's eyes got wide and she cast Eight a nervous glance. Marina eyed them too.

"Yeah, she's right, you two have been spending quite a bit of time together. Is there something you wanna tell us?" 

Eight blushed as she looked to Three, who was suddenly very interested in her shoes.  _ Was _ there anything going on? Did Three see her as anything other than a good friend? What if she only thought they were friends? Did she actually want to know the answer?

"Well, maybe now's not the time for that." Marina said, gently. "Come on, Pearl, let's go."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm right behind you." She said as the pair walked to the elevator. 

Three and Eight waited for the elevator in awkward silence. Three almost looked guilty, which Eight thought was odd, especially since she hadn't done anything wrong. 

"So, Crusty Sean's?"

"Huh?" Three said, confused. 

"For lunch. Crusty Sean's? I could use a Super Shwaffle and a smoothie." Eight said lightly. She wanted Three to stop looking so sad. "Honestly, I could probably eat the Great Zapfish at this point."

Three snickered. "I think the Crust Bucket would taste better than the Great Zapfish." 

The elevator opened. Eight grabbed Three's hand. Three looked down at their entwined fingers and then back to Eight, who simply smiled.

"Well let's go then!" She said, pulling Three into the elevator. Three smiled too as they made their way down the Tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first battle scene! I feel like I could use some more practice writing them, but I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new character gets introduced in this chapter! And a bit of angst follows!

** _Location: Somewhere outside Inkopolis, by the coast._ **

A cold wind blew through the Canyon, carrying a haunting, wailing howl with it. An Octoling with long red hair stood at its edge, gazing at the bright lights across the water. A black haired Octoling stood a few paces behind her, the kelp in her hair denoting her status as an Elite. 

"It's been a year since you last saw her." The black Octoling said. "Do you really think she's even alive?"

"She has to be." The red haired one responded. She turned to face the other, a fierce gleam in her eyes. "And if she isn't, I will raze that whole city to the ground."

**_*Two days later*_ **

"So Three, when do you think you're gonna ask Eight to be your girlfriend?" 

Three glanced up from her food, giving Four a suspicious look. 

"And why is this coming up all of a sudden?"

"I don't know, maybe because y'all have been on like six dates now and are still dancing around it?"

"We have _ not _ been on _ six _ dates."

"Let's see. Y'all went for coffee," Four said, counting her fingers, "then she met us for lunch after our match-"

"That one doesn't count." Three cut in. Four gave her a long suffering look.

"A date with a third wheel is still a date."

"It is _ not _."

"Anyway, then y'all went to a movie, and you've been to her house, and we had the Turf War-"

"T-those are all things friends do together!"

Four's expression was completely deadpan. "Three, I swear on the Great Zapfish, if you pull a useless lesbian trope, I will slap you with my Inkbrush."

Three blushed. "I just don't wanna seem like I'm taking advantage of her okay? It's a delicate situation."

"Sounds like you're making excuses to avoid the potential of rejection."

"Okay, you know what? Fuck you." Three snarled, roughly getting out of her chair. Four tapped her fingers on the table, looking towards the Square indifferently.

"Okay, but I have a fantastic date idea that I think she's gonna love" Four said in a sing-song tone. Three glared at the Inkling, but sat back down. 

"Spill it."

"She loves music right? The Inkopolis Philharmonic has a concert at the Mainstage on Friday."

"Are you sure? The Mainstage has been in rotation for the past two weeks."

"I'm sure. They booked it a month ago as part of their Ancient Classics tour."

Three eyed her suspiciously. "And how, pray tell, would you know that?"

Four grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"You are a huge pain in the ass."

"That's no way to talk to the greatest wingman in the world!"

"Funny, I don't remember ever designating you as my 'wingman' Four."

"Trust me, if you heard the wild ass plan Callie was cooking up, you'd never complain about me again."

Three groaned as Four laughed. Why was everyone trying to meddle in her love life? 

"Look Three, y'all gotta figure it out at some point. Might as well be now, yeah?"

Three sighed. "I know you're right, but, what if she doesn't feel the same?"

Four raised an eyebrow at her. "If that's the case, you be a big girl and you cry about it, and then keep it pushing."

"I know," Three whined. "It fucking sucks when it happens though."

"....Yeah" Four murmured. "I think you'll be alright though."

"Thank you Four."

"No problem."

Three grabbed her hand, startling her. She had an intense look in her eye. "I'm serious. I know I give you shit sometimes, but you're a really good friend and I appreciate you."

Four smiled, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks. "That means a lot Three."

"Okay, now, help me figure out how not to make a complete fool of myself to Eight."

"Oh, I don't know if there's any way to help you there- Ow!" Four rubbed her arm where Three had punched her. 

"Just help me you asshole."

***

"Come on Eight, Three will be here soon!" Marina shouted.

"Coming!" She shouted back. Eight smoothed the front of her dress in the mirror. She had no idea why she was so nervous. It's not like she had never gone out somewhere with Three before now. But this was different, this was a _ date _ date, not the casual hangouts like before. She could rationalize the previous outings as things friends would do together, but they were going to _ dinner _. 

"Eight! Honey, what are you doing?" Marina asked as she stepped into the room. "Come on, Three is here."

"She's here? Already?" Eight squeaked. She took a deep breath. _ Get it together _. 

"Oh, sweetie calm down!" Marina cooed. She quickly ran her fingers through the ends of Eight's tentacles so they framed her face. "Look, I know this feels different, but it's still Three, still the same Inkling you already know, okay?"

"But Marina, I'm all dressed up! We're going to a fancy restaurant. It's a _ date _."

"Do you not want to go?"

Eight panicked. "Of course I do!" She said, a little too loud. Marina squeezed her shoulders reassuringly.

"Okay, then you'll be fine. Come on, let's not keep her waiting."

The two of them walked into the livingroom, where Pearl was chatting with Three. Eight stopped short to take in her date. Three was wearing a pale gray blouse that made the yellow-green of her tentacles seem brighter. Her dark slacks made her look fancy and sophisticated.

"Wow." Was all she managed to say. Three turned around and broke into a huge grin.

"Wow yourself. That dress really suits you."

Eight looked down at her dress, a simple black dress, with a round neck and white skirt, and then back up at Three. "Thank you," she said shyly.

"Three cleans up pretty nicely eh, Marina?" Pearl said. 

"She sure does. Alright you two," Marina said, ushering them to the door. "Hurry up before you lose your reservation!"

Eight was surprised to see a car waiting in the parking lot. "You drive?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I have my license." Three opened the door for her. "This is a rental though."

Once they were both in the car and moving, Three handed her an envelope.

"Okay, so, we're not actually going to dinner."

"We're not?"

"No, we're going somewhere else."

"But Marina said-"

Three shook her head. "I told Marina and Pearl we were going to dinner because if I had told them where we were really going, they would have tried to use their connections to upgrade us or whatever. And I felt like that would have put unnecessary pressure on it."

That was fair, Eight thought. Pearl especially would've tried to do that, and would've talked Marina into it. That made her all the more curious to know where they were going. She looked down at the envelope Three had given her. 

"What's in the envelope?"

Three flashed a grin at her. "The surprise, or at least, how we get in."

She opened the envelope. Inside were... tickets? "Are we going to a movie?" 

"Nope."

"A Turf Match?"

"Nope."

They turned into a parking lot a few minutes later. It was full of cars and people in dressy clothes. Eight recognized where they were right away.

"Oh! This is Starfish Mainstage. But you said we were not going to a Turf War."

"We're not," Three said before getting out. She came and opened Eight's door. "They also hold events here."

The two of them walked to the stage entrance, where the same dressed people from the parking lot were lined up. Things looked very different than when it was set up for battling, with large awnings over the area in front of the center stage, and plenty of seats. The back of the stage was enclosed, and there were more chairs and a podium on the center stage itself. It was all a bit strange honestly. 

"Why are there chairs on the stage?" She whispered to Three as they found their seats. It was not quite the front, more towards the front of the middle section.

"That's where the orchestra sits. The podium is for the conductor."

"Orchestra? This is a concert?" She said excitedly. But who was playing? There were too many chairs for a band. 

Three smiled and patted her hand. "Yes it's a concert. It's not music you're used to though; not like Off the Hook or the Squid Sisters."

The lights around the stage went low, and the crowd quieted as several Inklings bearing various instruments walked onto the stage. Eight held her breath in anticipation. She recognized a few of the instruments, a fiddle, a big drum. There were ones that looked like the fiddle but were much larger, and brass colored ones, and long black ones that looked like pipes. They were all so interesting, and she couldn't help but wonder what they sounded like. Lastly, an Inkling Man in a black tuxedo walked onto the stage and up to the podium, a long, thin pointed stick in his hand, and what looked like a folder tucked under his arm. He placed the folder on the podium and opened it, and then lifted the stick into the air. All of the Inklings with the instruments all lifted their arms in preparation.

Then the fiddles of many sizes began playing a slow, lilting melody. A wave of blue crossed Eight's vision as they played, ranging from sky blue to navy. A tall, standing stringed instrument started playing, each note a tiny starburst of rose pink that expanded and faded. Eight turned to Three as the brass instruments - horns, she realized - twisted maroon and the black pipes tittered blue bubbles. Three was watching her anxiously.

"Three, oh my cod."

"Are you okay?" She whispered. "It's not overwhelming? The colors and stuff I mean."

"Three," she said, her voice cracking. "It's _ beautiful _."

Three sighed in relief and grinned before grabbing her hand. Eight squeezed it as the music continued, painting a living watercolor only she could see.

The orchestra played two more songs, with Eight trying to describe the music to Three in hushed tones. Once they had finished the third song, the lights came up and people started shuffling about.

"Oh, is it over?" Eight asked.

"No, it's intermission." Eight gave her a confused look. "A break," Three continued, "Gives people time to use the bathroom and stretch."

"Oh! Okay. Where is the bathroom anyway?"

Three pointed to the left of the stage. "Should be some over there, I think."

Eight thanked her for the directions and walked off to find the bathrooms. She paid little attention to the people around her, mostly older Inklings and a few Octolings in fancy clothes. The colors from the music had mostly faded, except for at the edges of her vision, and she couldn't help but hum as she walked. Despite the crowd, the line to the bathroom was quick, and people were heading back to their seats. Eight started to head back too, when someone grabbed her arm and yanked her into a secluded alcove.

"Hey, what-" she started to say. A woman's voice shushed her and she felt the press of a hand over her mouth.

"Shush, before we get caught!" The voice said. It was too dark to see who the voice belonged to, but it sounded oddly familiar. She shook the hand off.

"Who the hell are you? Let me go!" She whispered.

The mysterious figure leaned forward, just until a sliver of light hit them. It was...an Octoling? Wearing standard Octarian army gear and the standard silver goggles. She had long, red tentacles with short strands of kelp in her hair, marking her as a recent promotion to Elite. 

"You don't recognize me? 585?"

Eight felt her stomach drop. "W-what did you call me?"

The Octoling pushed her goggles up, revealing dark green eyes. Eight's chest grew tight, like the air had been squeezed out of her. Time seemed to come to a halt as the Octoling spoke.

"It's me, 719. I'm here to take you home."

Eight heard someone screaming. The Octoling's face turned to panic as Eight realized _she_ was the one screaming.

***

Three checked her watch, growing worried. It shouldn't have taken this long for Eight to use the bathroom, and the concert was about to resume soon. Where was she? After another five minutes, she got up to find an usher, when she heard a terrified scream. She looked around at the other patrons, all of whom looked equally confused and unsure if they'd just heard the noise. Then another scream came, followed by the sound of a commotion, and Three was off. If there was danger, she needed to find Eight quickly. 

She got closer to the screaming, and spotted a shadow Super Jumping over the wall and landing a few blocks away. _ What the fuck? _ She thought, as she ran to where the shadow had jumped from. People had started crowding around the area, where someone was now crying instead of screaming. Three started elbowing people out of the way.

"Excuse me!" She grunted, pushing past someone. "Let me through!"

"Does anyone know this girl?" A security guard said as Three got towards the front of the crowd. "I said does anyone know this girl!" 

"I do!" Three shouted as she broke the line. Eight was seated on the ground, crying and gasping. Three lunged past the guard and pulled the distraught Octoling into a hug.

"Hey! I'm here! I'm here!" She said soothingly. Eight threw her arms around Three's neck.

"I want to go home!" She sobbed. "I want to go home!"

***

"Do you want to file a report?" The guard asked as he escorted them to the entrance. 

"Maybe tomorrow." Three said as she handed the keys to a valet. Eight was sniffling still, but had stopped crying at least.

"Are you hurt?" Three asked once they were alone. 

"I'm not hurt" Eight hiccuped.

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know," she stammered. "There was - it was-"

"Okay, take a deep breath." Three rubbed her arms gently. "Did you see something?"

Eight nodded.

"Okay, was it a person? A Salmonid? Something else?"

"An Octoling. From the Valley I think."

Three's eyes went wide. A Valley Octoling _ this _ far into the city? They never surfaced in the city, even if they were freed. She needed to alert the rest of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. But she had to get Eight home first. The valet pulled up with the car, and they got in and started driving. They drove in silence for a bit, Three wondering what to do about the potential new threat.

"Hey Three?" Eight said, cutting into her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Can you… sing for me please? Maybe one of the songs from Squiddy Poppins?"

She glanced at Eight, who looked exhausted and miserable.

"Of course I can." She replied.

_ Early each day to the steps of Saint Paul's _

_ The little old bird woman comes... _


	8. Chapter 8

Three stood by the small alcove that she had found Eight in the night of their disastrous date. It was crossed with yellow caution tape, and a 'No Admittance' sign. She was looking for clues and trying to recount any details she could. Four walked up behind her.

"Find anything yet?"

Three let out a frustrated sigh. "No, not really. I don't even know how they got in here."

"Okay, well what do you remember?"

Three pointed to the top of the wall. "A shadow super jumped over this wall." The two agents climbed to the top of the wall, carefully balancing on the narrow ledge.

"From where I was when I saw them jump, it looked like they landed… there, by that orange building." She said, pointing at a squat apartment building a few blocks away.

Four nodded. "Okay, so let's head over there and see if we can't find any clues."

They super jumped onto the roof of the building, which had a dead end alley below it. Since the two Inklings were on official NSS business, they wore their Hero Gear, and had their weapons. They technically weren't allowed to have the limiters off of their weapons in city limits, but having free range to switch subweapons if they got into a fight made their job easier. They looked around on the roof first, and, finding nothing, dropped down into the alley. 

"Ugh, it's grody as fuck down here," Four complained, nudging a rotting wooden pallet with her foot.

"Just look around. The faster we clear this alley, the faster we can move on."

They swept the alley, pushing trash aside and looking for any sign that an Octoling might have gone through there. After several minutes they turned up nothing.

"Maybe it was the next alley over?" Four suggested. 

"Yeah, maybe," Three sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. They couldn't search every alley on this side of the city. They really needed a lead.

"Let's look one more time," Three said. "Search for anything shiny. Eight said they wore goggles."

"Speaking of," Four said, turning over a garbage bag, "How is Eight?"

Three huffed, opening one of the metal garbage bins. "I don't know. She won't talk to me about it. Ugh this is gross."

"Really? Damn. Was she hurt?"

"No, she said she wasn't hurt. And like, her clothes were fine, you know?"

"That doesn't always mean anything," Four said as she kicked over a stack of wet cardboard boxes. They collapsed easily, startling a rat out of hiding.

"Yeah, I know. But I don't understand why she won't just _ talk _ to me."

"You said she was pretty spooked."

"She was practically hysterical. Something about this particular Octoling she saw really messed with her." Three opened another garbage bin, wincing at the smell. "I just wish I knew what it was. Ugh, cod, I think something crawled in here and died." 

Four snorted and walked to the rear of the alley, poking around a stack of blue wooden pallets that were leaning precariously against the alley wall. "Well, hopefully she comes around soon. I'm sure she knows how worried you are about her," she said as she shifted the pallets. She caught a glimpse of something. It looked like...kelp?

"Hey, Three?" She called to the older inkling, who was still further up the alley.

"What?" Three called back.

"Don't the Elites wear kelp in their hair?"

Three looked up. "Yeah, they do."

"Well, I think I just found-"

Four was interrupted by the pallets suddenly erupting in front of her, knocking her off her feet. An Octoling with bright red hair leapt from the wreckage, a Slosher poised to slam into the downed agent. Three leapt toward them, but it was too late and Four got splatted. Three cursed as she began firing her Hero Dualies at the Octoling, who hissed at her. 

The Octoling swung her Slosher at Three, spreading a wide arc of magenta ink across the alley. Three cursed the narrow space, dodge rolling backwards to avoid another spray of ink. She fired again, but the Octoling took cover behind the pallets. 

_ That's fine _ , she thought, _ I'll draw you out easily enough! _

She took cover behind a garbage bin, inking the ground to refill her tank, and then tossed an autobomb at the pallets. The Octoling let out a cry, trapped, and Three quickly switched to a curling bomb to make a path. As soon as the autobomb went off, she threw the curling bomb and dove into its ink trail, following it straight to the pallets…

And right into a second Octoling. 

"Oh, fuck!" She cursed, as the second, black haired Octoling tried to hit her with a Roller. 

She barely dove out of the way in time, the Roller's metal edge scraping the length of her arm. She dodged the red Octoling who dove from behind an ink splattered pallet to grab her. So that was how she survived the autobomb. Three dodge rolled back several paces, and the two Elite Octolings waited, neither wanting to make the first move. Three rolled her shoulder, noting the sting down her arm from the hit she took.

_ That'll teach me not to go in blind like that ever again _, she told herself. She needed a plan until Four returned from the respawn, but it was blocks away and she couldn't land a super jump in the alley safely. 

"What the hell are you assholes doing here?" She taunted. 

"None of your business Squid filth!" The black haired Octoling retorted. Three gaped. She spoke inklish?

"Now, get out of our way or meet the bottom of the ocean!" The black Octoling shouted before flinging a slew of magenta ink at Three. The red Octoling followed up with another slosh of ink, forcing Three to take cover behind one of the garbage bins.

Shit, shit, shit. She couldn't take them both on with only Dualies. She started throwing splat bombs, which proved to be enough to hold the red Octoling back, but the black one was clearly more experienced, leaping over them deftly. _ Okay _ , Three thought as she dodged another slosh of ink, _ I need to take the red one out first _. 

Three tossed a curling bomb, diving into the ink trail and swimming past the black Octoling, who couldn't turn fast enough to swing at her. The red Octoling dodged behind a pallet to avoid the curling bomb's blasts, which was perfect. Three leapt from the ink directly into the stacks of pallets, knocking them down. The red Octoling screamed as they piled on top of her, trapping her. There. One down. 

"You'll pay for that Inkling!" The black one shouted. She rushed forward, and Three scrambled up the haphazard pallets as she flung magenta ink against the alley wall. 

Three fired more of her own ink. Where the hell was Four? She jumped down, feeling the sting of enemy ink on her back as the black Octoling swung her Roller. _ She's so fucking fast! _ Three thought, whipping around to fire at her. But the alley was suddenly empty. And Three realized she was surrounded by magenta ink. She froze as she realized she'd been played. _ Oh fuck _. 

She sensed ripples behind her and turned in time to see the black Octoling bursting from her ink, and then felt the heavy Roller connecting with her skull. Three went down, hard, her vision filling with spots and a heavy dull pain in her head. Her Dualies skittered across the alley out of reach.

"Hmph. You are certainly a skilled one, but still too young to strategize properly." The Octoling said, although her voice sounded muffled and far away. Three tried to lift herself up, but cod, her limbs felt like they were filled with lead. 

The Octoling raised her Roller as Three clung to consciousness. "Say goodbye little squid filth. You cannot respawn when unconscious." 

Three watched helplessly as the Roller come down in what seemed like slow motion. 

***CLANG***

Black and orange boots suddenly blocked Three's vision. 

"Back off my friend bitch!" Four yelled, her Herobrush locked handle to handle with the Octoling's roller. 

"Move, you little rat!" The Octoling yelled, trying to wrest her Roller free. 

Three's head was pounding. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Four yanking her Herobrush to the side, catching the hook of the Roller and wrenching it from the Octoling's hands. 

***

Three heard muffled voices around her. She tried to make out what they were saying, but her head was pounding. She tried to open her eyes, but there was a bright light directly over her face that just made her headache worse. 

"Ugh…" she groaned. The voices stopped as she tried to move around. 

"Three? Are you awake?" One of the muffled voices said, this time sounding right by her ear. She recognized that voice.

"Eight?" 

"Yeah, I'm right here." Three felt Eight's hand brush her forehead. "The doctor says you're very lucky that you don't have a concussion."

Well that was good, although it didn't get rid of her headache. "Where's Four?"

"To your left. I'm good." Four said. 

"Thank cod," Three muttered. She tried to sit up, unsuccessfully. Eight adjusted the hospital bed so she could sit up. 

She managed to open her eyes a crack, taking in her surroundings. She was definitely in a hospital room, wearing one of those awful gowns. As her eyes adjusted to the light, details became clearer, and she noted Eight's storm gray eyes watching her worriedly. Four was perched in a chair, looking frazzled and exhausted. Her Hero gear was in rough shape, frayed and torn and covered in splotches of fading magenta ink.

"Hey, Four," Three started, "about the mission-"

"Later." She replied curtly. Eight looked back and forth between the two Inklings worriedly.

"I'll go get the doctor," she murmured. "See if you can be discharged." 

Once Eight had closed the door, Four rushed over to Three and hugged her tight. 

"I thought you were fucking dead."

Three hugged her back. "Come on now, the only thing that can kill me is a meteor."

Four pulled back, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. "That one Octoling was vicious. I don't know how you managed to fend off two of them as long as you did."

"The red head was easier to deal with honestly. She had to have only recently become an Elite." 

"In all seriousness though, Three, when I saw you lying on the ground like that…" Four shook her head. 

"Yeah, I know. I thought I was a goner too."

Three glanced at the faded ink stains on Four's gear. "So what happened after I passed out? Did you splat her?"

Four scrunched her nose up. "No. I disarmed her, but the redhead busted out of the crates again. That was enough distraction for the dark haired one to escape. The redhead ran off while I checked on you."

"Yeah, I figured something like that happened."

"You're not… mad at me are you?"

"What? No!" Three replied, shocked. How could she think she was mad? "No, you did the right thing. If I couldn't take her, you'd have been hard pressed to do it either."

An Inkling woman with graying tentacles walked in then, with Eight right behind her. "Hello there Erika! Glad to see you're up and talking!"

Four glanced at Three, who was gritting her teeth, and mouthed 'Erika? Really?' 

'Shut up!,' Three mouthed back, glaring at her.

"Alrighty, let's check you out so you can go home with your cousin and girlfriend!" the doctor said cheerfully. 

Three raised an eyebrow at Four, who simply shrugged, a sheepish smile on her face. Then she turned to Eight, who blushed at the questioning look. The doctor had Three do several quick tests, namely checking her eyes, having her take a few steps to check her balance, touching her fingers to her face, and testing her reflexes. 

"Well, you look like you're well enough to go home, but if you feel any sudden symptoms, come right back okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Three replied.

"Good! I'll go get your paperwork!" The doctor said, and then walked out.

"So," Three said looking at Four. "My cousin huh?"

"What else was I supposed to say? They wouldn't let me in here unless I was family."

Three turned to Eight, who was suddenly very interested in the wallpaper. "And you missy?"

"Well," Eight started nervously, "I mean, it's basically true, is it not?"

Three smiled. "Well yeah. I mean we did get interrupted before I could properly ask you to go out with me though."

Eight looked confused. "We did?"

"Yeah. My plan was for us to go to the concert and I would've asked you to be my girlfriend at the end."

"Y'all have been dating for like three months now, but okay," Four grumbled, rolling her eyes. Eight laughed at that, and Three couldn't help but join them. It was a moment of relief for sure.

"So," Four said once they'd calmed down, "do I get to call you Erika now?"

Three started dressing. "You do, and I will bury you in Bluefin Depot."

"May _ I _ call you Erika?" Eight asked flirtatiously, leaning in close. Three blushed at the unexpected proximity and almost sultry tone. 

"Uh. Jury's still out on that one." She mumbled. Eight and Four started laughed again as the nurse came to discharge Three.

Four parted ways with Eight and Three once they got back to the Square. Once they got back to Eight's apartment, she began trying to convince Three to stay the night.

"I just think you shouldn't be alone after a head injury!" Eight said as they put their coats and shoes up.

"Eight, I'm fine! I've had worse scrape ups, honestly." Three said. She opened the fridge to look for food while Eight went to change her clothes. "You look like you need groceries."

"Oh, yeah, I meant to go yesterday. Check the freezer, there might be something in there."

Three nodded and opened the freezer. There was a cardboard cake box, along with a couple frozen meals. Curiosity got the better of Three as she grabbed the cake box and peeked inside. There were a bunch of small little cakes in various shapes, namely of objects, Salmonids and Octarians. There were even a few of people, like Sheldon, and the Squid Sisters. _ How odd _, she thought.

"Did you find anything in the freezer?" Eight said, making Three jump. 

"Barracudas! How do you keep sneaking up on me?" 

Eight giggled. "See, I bet it's that knock to the head. All the more reason for me to take care of you."

"You're not going to let that go are you?" Three asked with a laugh. Eight noticed the cake box and her eyes got big. 

"Please put that back."

Three looked at the box. "What are these anyway? They're so detailed. Where did you get them?"

Eight grimaced before snatching the box and shoving it back in the freezer. Then she started rifling through the take-out menus. 

"Let's just order something" she said through gritted teeth.

"Eight?" 

"Did you have a taste for anything specific, or -"

"_ Eight _." 

The Octoling took a deep breath. "I got them from the Metro. They're…. they're some of my memories."

"What? Are you serious?"

Eight nodded.

"But how- "

"I don't know! I just know that they are. And any time I eat one I get a memory back."

"_You_ _ate one_?!" Three asked incredulously. Eight winced. 

"I ate two."

"Did you at least tell someone?"

"I told Marina and Pearl. About the first one at least."

Three opened her mouth to fuss some more, but something about Eight's expression have her pause. She decided to change tactics. 

"Okay, okay. Did it actually give you a memory back?"

"Yes…" Eight said dejectedly. "I tried two of the Octarian ones."

"And then what happened?" 

"The memories come back in dreams. They're so vivid. It's actually a little terrifying. All the emotions too."

_ Emotions too… _ Three suddenly thought of something. "When you called me that morning crying… was that when you ate one?"

Eight nodded, rubbing her arm self consciously. Three wondered what kind of memory she'd had that had caused her so much grief. They sat down on the couch, Three pulling Eight close to her. 

"I'm sorry Eight." Three said, pulling the Octoling into a hug. Eight gently pushed her back.

"Three, I… have to tell you something."

"Okay?"

Eight sighed. "It's about the Octoling from the other night."

Three sat up straighter. "What is it?"

Eight tugged on her tentacles nervously. "The memories… she was in them. She helped me escape Octo Canyon."

"_ What? _" Three choked out. "You knew her?"

"We were on the same squad."

Three was speechless. Eight pressed on.

"I had no idea if she was still with the Octarian army, or maybe had finally left or anything. And when she grabbed me, she said who she was and I freaked out."

Three sat there stunned, trying to process what Eight had just told her. Cap'n Cuttlefish had been trying to figure out why those enemy Octolings would be in the city. He had figured that maybe they were looking for DJ Octavio, but with what Eight had just told her, it wasn't Octavio they were searching for.

They were searching for Eight.


	9. Chapter 9

The members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon sat around the front of Cap'n Cuttlefish's dingy Cabin. The sun was setting over Octo Valley, painting the sky in a blaze of red, orange and gold. Pearl, Marina, Callie and Marie were dressed casually, having needed to avoid too much attention travelling through the Square. Four and Eight were perched on some boxes, and Cap'n Cuttlefish had the only chair. Three paced anxiously as she thought of the best way to relay her thoughts.

"Okay so, I've called this meeting of the NSS because we have new information regarding the rogue Octarians in Inkopolis." Three said. 

"Ah yes, the ones looking for Octavio," Cap'n Cuttlefish replied. Three shook her head.

"That's just the thing, I don't think they're here for him."

"Seriously?" Callie asked. "Who else would they be here for?"

Three sighed. "I think they're here for Eight."

Everyone turned to stare at Eight, who suddenly wanted to sink into the ground. 

"What would they want with our Eight?" Pearl asked.

Three glanced at Eight, who was staring at her shoes. "It's kind of hard to explain."

"Literally our whole existence as a team is hard to explain" Marie quipped.

"Okay, fair, but this involves the bullshit with the Deepsea Metro." 

Pearl, Marina and Cap'n Cuttlefish all sat up straighter, looking again to Eight. They knew the details that the other three didn't.

"Eight," Marina started, laying her hand on the younger Octoling's arm. "Is this about that Octoling you had the dream about after eating a mem cake?"

"Yes." Eight replied meekly. 

Three grit her teeth.  _ She told Marina before she told me _ , she thought. She stopped herself. Of course Eight would've told Marina, she chided. It had been months ago, before they had really gotten to know one another. She had no right to be jealous.

"What's a mem cake?" Four asked.

"It's a memory, compressed into solid form, as cake." Eight replied. Four raised an eyebrow.

"Why cake? And also, like,  _ how _ ?"

"No idea. But I gained them for completing the tests in the Metro. I didn't actually try eating any of them until recently though."

"Yeah, but it was just the one right? And it didn't give you a lot to go on." Pearl said. Eight looked away guiltily.

"Actually I've eaten several."

"What?" Marina and Pearl said together. "And you didn't tell us?"

Eight winced. "I didn't want to be a burden. Most of the ones I ate weren't super serious. Training, missions I did, commercials for gear. Pretty innocuous. But the last one I ate was DJ Octavio's. The dream it triggered was about the day I defected. The same Octoling from the very first one, she helped me escape, but she didn't come with me." She shook her head. "It was…. I woke up in a bad place."

"You didn't have to deal with it alone!" Pearl cried.

"I didn't! Or at least, not exactly." Eight said, casting a glance at Three. 

Oh, Three thought. Then it clicked,  _ Oh _ .

"That was the day you called me crying wasn't it? And we watched movies all day?"

Eight nodded.

"Okay, this is all well and good, but what does it have to do with the Octos that attacked you guys?" Four interjected.

"Right. Turns out that one of them is the Octoling that helped Eight escape."

" _ What?! _ " They all said simultaneously. 

"So you know them?!" Four asked Eight incredulously.

"Them? There's more than one?"

"Yes, a red haired one and a dark haired one."

"I only saw the red haired one at the concert." Eight said. She tugged at her tentacles thoughtfully. "There was a third one in the first memory dream now that I think about it."

"So you mean to tell me," Marie said slowly, "that there's a strong likelihood that you know  _ both of them _ ?"

Eight blushed in embarrassment. "Y-yes," she stammered. "But I didn't even know if they were still with the Octarian army or not! I don't even know they're names!"

"Because you don't have all your memories back," Callie confirmed. Eight nodded. 

"Well," Cap'n Cuttlefish said, tapping his walking stick against the ground. "This definitely makes the case for why they'd be looking for you. Did the one you met say anything to you Agent Eight?"

"She… said she had come to take me home." 

"So back to the Canyon then?" Callie asked.

"I don't know. I kinda flipped out and she fled. Then Three found me. 

"So we don't even know what their intent is," Four said, standing. "Well this is a huge clusterfuck if I ever saw one."

Eight put her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

"No it's not," Three said reassuringly.

"But you and Four got injured because of me!"

"Hey!" Four growled irritably, "unless you personally kicked my ass, you had no say in how I got injured." She pulled Eight roughly into a hug. "Besides, I'll kick my own ass before I let my friends get hurt anyway."

"How can you kick your own ass? It is on the back of you!"

They all burst into laughter, the tension deflating. 

"Okay," Three said, still chuckling. "We need to come up with a plan."

"How are we going to do that? Seeing as we have no idea where the two of them went." Marina said. That was true. Three had been unconscious and Four had been distracted.

"I guess we just focus on keeping Eight safe for now."

"And look out for any leads" Pearl added. 

"Alright, well we have a basic plan in place now." Cap'n Cuttlefish suddenly burst out. "That's enough doom and gloom for the day. All you kids get out! Go do something fun!" He started shooing them all towards the sewer grate back to Inkopolis. 

"We'll meet back here if anyone finds a major lead," Three said.

"Yes, yes, now go!"

"So now what?" Eight asked as they walked through the Square. It was getting dark, and the sudden shift from the quiet Canyon to the noisy Square was giving her a headache. 

"We go home, I guess" Three replied. 

***

Eight sighed in relief as she entered her quiet apartment. Despite spending little time in the Square, her head was swimming with colors and phantom noise. The stress of the past few days was catching up with her as well. She was exhausted. Three hugged her from behind, sighing into the back of her head. 

"This has been one hell of a week."

"Yeah, it has."

Three rested her chin on Eight's shoulder, a small smile on her face.

"Can I say something really sappy?"

Eight raised an eyebrow at her. "Sure."

"I'm really glad you're my girlfriend."

Eight grinned. "Me too. At least that part of the week was nice."

Three's stomach growled loudly then, making them both laugh. "Why don't I find us something to eat, while you get a pillow and some blankets so I can sleep on the couch?"

Eight nodded and headed into her room. She started pulling out a blanket and a spare pillow. Three would need pajamas too. Washcloths and a towel. As she searched for everything Three would need to stay the night, she felt a prickling on her neck, like she was being watched. She tried to ignore it, but after everything that had happened recently, it was incredibly unnerving. She scanned the room. Nothing  _ looked _ out of place, and as she was currently standing in front of the closet, there wasn't any place for anyone to really hide. The feeling persisted.

"Hey, Eight, wanna do pancakes?" Three called from the living room. 

"Sure," Eight called back as she walked to the windows. 

Her apartment was on the fifth floor, so logically no one would be looking through the window. Still, she looked out the glass to see empty sidewalks. The building across the street had a few lit windows, but their curtains were closed. Opening the windows let in the cool night air, and Eight noted that it had started drizzling, the smell of wet earth filling the room. No sign of whatever was creeping her out though. She sighed, and closed the shades. Maybe she was just paranoid. 

Back in the living room, she was met by the smell of pancakes, and Three's emerald voice drifting from the kitchen. Eight sighed contentedly as she dropped the things Three would need onto the couch. She was overcome with a feeling of deja vu, as if this brief moment of domesticity was one she had encountered before. It was an odd sensation, but she kind of liked it. 

"Pancakes are ready!" Three called, walking into the room. "Oh, I thought you were still in the bedroom."

"Yeah. There's towels and stuff for you to use as well. I don't have a spare toothbrush though."

Three shrugged. "It's fine, I actually keep one on me for when Cap decides to drag me on a mission last minute."

"I take it that's happened a lot?"

"Ugh, you have no idea." Three groaned as she returned to the kitchen. "That old man has like, no sense of time whatsoever. Four is only saved by the fact she's in school and does a lot of extracurriculars."

"Extracurriculars?" Eight asked confused. She watched Three pile pancakes onto two plates.

"Yeah, like clubs and stuff? She turfs a lot, but she also is on like, the yearbook committee, and she does something else too."

"Wow, she sounds… busy."

"Yeah," Three said as she poured the syrup. She practically drowned her own plate, but was much more light handed for Eight. "Marie has been trying to convince her to cut back."

"Am I the only one who thinks Marie has a thing for Four?"

Three snorted and rolled her eyes as they sat down. "No, you're not. Not sure if it will go anywhere though."

"Why do you say that?" Eight asked between bites. 

"It's… Complicated. You're better off asking Four about it."

They finished eating in silence, and started picking out movies to watch.

"This should totally be a regular thing we do." Three said as she put a disc in the player.

"Yes, it seems this is becoming a regular occurrence."

"I propose we call it Pancake Night, and we have it every second Thursday of the month."

"Why every second Thursday?" Eight questioned.

"I don't know, it just sounded good."

"Well, I think Pancake Night sounds like a great idea. And maybe we can invite the others once in awhile."

Three grinned. "Then it will be a Pancake Party!" She scrunched up her nose. "Oh my gosh, you're making me  _ social _ , how dare you."

Eight laughed. "My nefarious plans are coming to fruition!"

"Well, your reign of terror ends here villain!" Three said, jumping on the Octoling. She began tickling her, until they were both breathless from laughing. 

"I yield! I yield!" Eight gasped.

"Triumph!" Three exclaimed. 

Eight continued to laugh as Three noted the Octoling's flushed features. Her tentacles had even taken on a pinkish hue, making her gray eyes stand out more. Three was suddenly very aware of how close they were. 

Eight noticed that Three was suddenly quiet and staring at her.

"Three? Are you okay?"

"I- " the Inkling hesitated. "I want to kiss you."

Eight felt her breath hitch. "Really?"

Three gently brushed her fingers over Eight's cheek and nodded. Eight swallowed thickly, her mouth dry.

"Okay," she rasped. 

Her hearts hammered in her chest as Three gently cupped her face and leaned down towards her. Three hovered for a moment, before brushing her lips over Eight's. She pulled back for a second, breathing shakily, before leaning back in, kissing her more urgently. She tasted like syrup and pancakes and  _ warmth _ and Eight clung to her shirt, feeling like she would be swept away. 

Suddenly, Eight felt very overwhelmed, like fireworks were going off under her skin. She gently pushed Three back. The inkling's face was flushed bright pink, and even the tips of her tentacles were pink. To her credit, she didn't look offended.

"Sorry- " Eight began, a little breathlessly. "It was…"

"Too much?" Three finished. Eight nodded. "It happens, no worries." she said as she helped Eight sit up.

"So," Eight said awkwardly. "How about that movie?" Three laughed.

"Yeah, let's do that."


	10. Chapter 10

The city of Inkopolis was almost perpetually busy. It was an unexpected experience to say the least, as the Octarian domes had strict rationing schedules to preserve power. It also made it harder to maintain a concealed position, as there was always a light on, or a shop open overnight. There were some patrols to avoid late at night as well. It was borderline unbearable. 

719 watched enviously at the blatant waste of energy the Inklings displayed. Even during the day, there was so much noise. A nearby billboard played an obnoxious tune, the sound creating an acrid taste in her mouth. She spit, doing her best to ignore it as she surveyed her targets.

Her comm clicked with static. "Do you see her 719? Report."

"Yes, 227, I see her. She's with those wretched Inklings from the alley fight."

"Both of them? Are you sure?"

"Yes," 719 replied. The three of them were sitting outside of the building 585 lived in. The yellow Inkling was sitting on the ground, attempting to repair an Inkbrush, while 585 and the green Inkling sat on a nearby bench, watching. She curled her lip in disgust as the green Inkling put her arm around 585. How dare she touch 585 so casually? 

"When are we going to retrieve her?" 719 whispered.

"Soon. We just need to wait for them to take the bait."

719 sighed. "Yes, you're right. I just want to get her now."

"This is why you don't catch feelings for your squad mates 719." 227 hissed. 719 flinched at the reminder. 

227 sighed before continuing. "Look, I know you're anxious to get her back. But we knew it wouldn't be easy when we left the Canyon."

"We seriously underestimated the parameters of the mission." 719 said with a grimace. The billboard nearby had changed to some cutesy children's cartoon, filling her mouth with a sickly sweet flavor, like cake icing that had just turned. She spit again, although it didn't really help.

"Well, I agree with you there. But we're the top stealth unit for a reason."

719 went back to watching 585 and the two Inklings. "Yes, and we're not going to fail."

***

"You know Sheldon could probably fix that for you."

Four looked up at Three from her Herobrush's handle, of which she was wrapping a thick layer of duck tape around. "Yeah, but like, I just went to him for a tune up last week and I really don't feel like hearing him go on a rant about how reckless I am with his precious designs."

"I like when Sheldon talks about weapons" Eight said with a sigh. 

"That's apparently pretty common among the Octolings," Four chirped. "You guys really like weapons and technology. Ah, damn." She stared at the broken handle, which had come loose despite the duck tape.

"Here, let me see that," Three said, getting up from the bench. She grabbed the Herobrush, and dropped it almost immediately. It hit the ground with a heavy thud. 

"What the fuck, Four! Why in the Great Zapfish is this thing so heavy?"

Four shrugged. "I need it that heavy. Keeps me from breaking it more often." She chuckled. "Actually, you should've seen Sheldon's face after the first time I used it, shortly after I started with NSS. He was practically hysterical."

"No wonder you're so strong!" Eight said as she tried lifting the brush. It was at least twice as heavy as Three's Herobrush. Maybe even as heavy as a Splatling.

"Did your mother give you protein powder instead of ink formula as a baby?" Three said incredulously. "Seriously Four, you're barely taller than a jelly and yet you swing this thing like a beast."

"And so fast! I remember how fast you were in our Turf War with the others." Eight chimed in. Four flashed a shit-eating grin at them.

"I used to play hockey with my four brothers before I moved to Inkopolis."

"You have four brothers?" 

"Yup, and I'm the youngest, too."

"Off course you are," Three said, sarcastically. "Anymore mysterious details of your past you wanna share?"

Four snorted. "You first  _ Erika _ ."

Three glared at her. "Can you not?"

"I just wanna know why don't you like your name."

"I am also interested in why you dislike your name," Eight added. Three looked back and forth between the two of them and then sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I don't like it because it came with unrealistic expectations attached."

Eight and Four looked at each other and then back to Three, curiosity written on their faces. Three threw her hands up in annoyance.

"Ugh, you just want all the details! I was named after some aunt or something, that ended up being a groundbreaking researcher in human civilization studies."

"Oh, wow. And they expected you to do the same thing?" Four replied. Three nodded.

"But that's not fair!" Eight said. "To expect you to just do something you may not even like!"

"Yeah, well, some people are like that."

"Well, that explains that." Four said, turning to Eight. "Okay, your turn!"

"Me?" Eight said, looking around awkwardly.

"Yeah! I know your memories are kinda scrambled, but there must be something interesting!"

"Oh, umm." Eight thought for a moment. "Oh! I can see sounds. Is that interesting?"

"See sounds?"

"Yes. Sounds, they make colors and shapes that I can see. Especially music and voices."

Four's eyes went wide. "Oh my cod, what? Seriously? That sounds so cool!"

Eight grinned. "Thanks!" 

" _ Anyway _ ," Three interjected as she lifted Four's broken weapon again, "I think you're gonna have to take this back to Sheldon. It looks like you twisted the metal off."

"Son of a barracuda," Four groaned. She stood up and stretched before grabbing her Herobrush. "Well, I guess I'm off to get it fixed. If you don't hear from me, Sheldon bored me to death and then used my bones for his latest weapons."

"What kind of weapon would require bones?" Eight asked in shock.

"Gelatin cannon!" Four said, pointing finger guns at Eight as she walked away. 

"Oh, meet me at the Cabin!" Three called to Four. The yellow Inkling continued walking, waving in acknowledgement without turning around. 

"Cap'n Cuttlefish's cabin? You have a mission today?" Eight asked as Three stood up and stretched.

"Yeah. Cap'n Cuttlefish got some reports that those two Octolings were seen around Port Mackerel, so he wanted Four and me to go check it out."

"Ah…" Eight murmured. "Maybe, I could come with you?"

Three grimaced. "I don't know. Where we're going is near a Salmonid nest, and, well…" She gently gripped Eight's hands. "I need to be able to fully concentrate."

"By not having to worry about me."

Three nodded. "I'm sorry, babe. If I know you're safe at home, I can focus on getting intel and kicking ass with Four."

Eight sighed, disappointed. "Of course, you're right. I just- "

"Wanted to confront them?"

"Yes! I have so many questions!"

"Well, I'm sure we'll get answers," Three said with a smile. Eight returned the smile and hugged her. 

"What would I do without you?" She mumbled. Three chuckled. 

"I don't know, you'd probably be shacked up with some smoking hot, up and coming pop star."

Eight snorted, gently shoving Three's shoulder. "Yeah, right!"

"What?" Three laughed. "It's what happened to Marina!" 

Eight laughed. "You're ridiculous!"

"Who, me? No way" she said, grinning. Eight kissed her then, still giggling, still smiling, and it made her feel like she was full of light. She would do anything to hold onto that feeling.

"I gotta go," Three said, pulling away. "Rogue Octarian soldiers won't catch themselves."

"I know," Eight said, soberly. "Be careful, okay?" 

"I will, I promise."

***

"Man, this place stinks."

"Shut up Four."

"It smells like a whale died, was allowed to rot in the sun, and then was set on fire."

"Four-"

"You could weaponize this smell I bet."

" _ Four _ ."

"I wonder if that's how they make disruptors-"

"Shut  _ up _ Four." Three said, running her hand over her face in exasperation. The younger Inkling had been complaining since they'd arrived.

"Are you sure they're here? I can't imagine anyone hiding out in a place like this, even Octarians."

"I can't either, but it's not like there's a whole lot of places in the city for them to hide."

Three adjusted her grip on her Hero Shot. She hated Port Mackerel. She could see the Spawning Grounds in the distance, the Grizzco boat anchored in the water. There were probably some poor saps getting pounded by Salmonids as they spoke. 

"Hey, Three, I'm taking the high point." Four said, brandishing her Hero Charger. 

"You just wanna get away from the smell."

Four grinned. "Obviously. But also I have a fucking charger. Shit's no good up close, ya know." 

With that, she scrambled up the nearest shipping crate, leaving Three to do the ground level recon. Three slowly made her way through the aisles of shipping crates, occasionally tossing curling bombs ahead of her to leave ink and clear blind corners. So far, things were eerily quiet, with nothing but the sound of seagulls and the wind going. Her comm clicked twice before Four spoke.

"Hey, Three? I'm up on the crane."

"Bitch,  _ what _ ?" She sputtered. She looked up at the huge yellow crane, covering her eyes with her hand to block the sun's glare. She could just barely make her out, but there was Four, on top of the cod damn crane.

"Yeah, anyway, I can see the entire port from up here, and uh, looks pretty damn empty to me."

"Okay, that's great and all, but how in the  _ fuck _ did you get up there?"

"Levitation."

"I am going to kill you."

"Only if the fall doesn't kill me first."

Three took a deep breath, trying to suppress a laugh. Laughing would only encourage her.

"Get your ass down here  _ safely _ please."

"Your wish is my command!"

A few minutes passed before Four dropped onto the top of a container. She flashed a shit eating grin towards Three.

"Hey there, thought I'd just drop in for a spell."

Three rolled her eyes. "You are the single most annoying creature on the planet."

Four gasped, clutching her chest in mock offense. "Oh, Three! You wound me!"

"That can be arranged into an actuality if you don't knock it off." Three retorted, although she was smirking. 

"So," Four said, climbing down the metal side, "I have a question."

"Shoot."

"It took us thirty minutes to get here right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

Four looked pensive. "And we just spent, what, 45 minutes to clear the place? And there's  _ no one _ here?"

"What are you getting at, Four?" Three asked, although she had a rising feeling she knew the answer.

"Who does it serve to get both of us far from the city for over an hour, and using bad intel?"

"Shit." Three said, pulling on her tentacles. "Shit, shit, shit, they played us!"

"I'm calling Marie, hopefully one of them can get over to Eight's place while we make our way back."

Three took off. Four sighed and started running after her, phone still to her ear. "Hey, Marie? Yeah, we got a problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Sorry for the extended wait for an update! The holiday took a lot out of me and I just didn't have time to write! Hope you guys enjoy this one!


	11. Chapter 11

_ The apple of my eye _

_ When we're apart, you're in my heart _

_ A meal prepared, with special care. _

Eight busily chopped vegetables as she hummed poetry to herself. She had developed a love for cooking after Marina had started teaching her, and well, Three had developed a love for Eight's food rather quickly. Tonight's menu, wine-braised chicken with potatoes and broccoli. She could practically hear Marina's indigo voice now. _ The way to any Squid's hearts is through their stomachs. _ That certainly seemed true, as Pearl was always raving about Marina's cooking, and Three and Four were constantly stealing Eight's leftovers. As she put the chicken in the oven, there was a heavy knock on the door. 

"Coming!" She called, quickly washing her hands. The knock came again, more insistent this time. 

"Hold your oysters!" Eight laughed. She started to open the door. "Whatever happened to your key-" she trailed off as she realized that the person standing in her doorway was _ not _ Three.

"Hello, 585." 

Eight stumbled backwards as the red haired Octoling stepped inside. 

"Wow," she said, looking around. "You live here? This is the size of at least two dorm rooms in the Valley."

"How did you find me?" 

"What?" She replied quizzically. "We were the best stealth unit in the Octarian army, what do you mean 'how did I find you'?"

"I-" Eight hesitated. She needed time to think of a plan. "I lost my memory."

719's eyes grew wide. "What? Seriously? Is that why you freaked out on me?"

"Yes." She glanced at the door. "Where's the other one? Uh." She wracked her brain. "227? Right? Our squad leader?"

719 grinned, a look of relief on her face. "You remember us then! Thank cod. She's outside standing guard."

"Guard?" Eight asked as she stepped back towards the closet. She would only have one chance.

"Yes, in case those two Inklings come back." 719 walked towards the kitchen, her back to Eight. 

Eight eased the sliding door open a crack. It squeaked a little, and she froze, watching 719 to see if she noticed. 

"Why are you worried about those Inklings? They didn't do anything."

"Lies!" 719 hissed. "Don't you recognize the yellow one? She was the one that defeated DJ Octavio when you left!"

"And the green one?"

"227 says she's the one from three years ago who beat the DJ for the first time."

719 turned the radio up then, sending the opening notes of Ink Theory's song Broken Coral blaring through the apartment. 719 made a sour face, sticking her tongue out with a hiss. 

"How on earth do you listen to this shit? It tastes disgusting. I can't imagine what it looks like to you."

"Wait, tastes? " Eight asked, shocked. "You can taste music?" 

"Yes? Geez, you really did lose your memory huh?"

"I- I can see sounds. And you can taste them."

"Yes." 719 walked up to her, gripping her shoulders with a sorrowful look. "What did they _ do _ to you?"

Eight felt torn as she looked into the other Octoling's green eyes. 719 clearly thought she was rescuing her. She _ cared _. And she had answers to her past. There had to be a way to fix this. 

"719, I-"

Static from 719's comm cut her off, as 227 started speaking. 

"719, we have a problem."

"What happened?"

"There's two agents coming, and they're armed."

"WHAT?!" 719 yelled. "I thought we got rid of them!"

"No, these are different. Either way, get her out of there, _ now _."

"What did you do?" Eight asked as 719 started yanking her towards the door. 

"Nothing yet, we just sent them on a wild goose chase."

Eight pulled 719 to a stop. "I'm not going with you."

"What are you doing? Come on."

"No. I- I have a lot of questions, and you're my best shot at getting answers, but I'm not leaving."

719 grit her teeth. "I'm not leaving here without you."

"Then I guess you aren't leaving."

Her comm hissed to life again. "719! I'm taking ink down here! Get out of there!"

719 looked between Eight and the door, conflicted. Eight simply eyed her, thinking on how quickly she could retrieve her Octoshot if she needed to. 

"719! The enemy is coming your way! Retreat, and that's an order!"

"You should go," Eight said. 719 glared at her.

"I'll be back for you, I promise." She said. Then, with stunning speed, she grabbed Eight and kissed her. It was hard, and rough, and not at all how Three had ever kissed her. Eight felt frozen, her hearts pounding, and then it was over, as 719 shoved her to the floor and ran out the door. 

***

"Eight!" Three called, pushing past the uniformed Inklings in the hallway. "Eight!"

Inside the apartment were several adult Inklings, taking pictures and rifling through objects. There was a matching group outside where Callie and Marie had fought the Elite Octoling, and were interviewing the Squid Sisters about the details of the fight. It was so much chaos. 

"Three! Over here." Marina called from the couch. Eight sat between her and Pearl, shaken, but unharmed from what Three could see.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She asked, pulling Eight into a tight hug. The Octoling shakily hugged her back.

"I am unhurt" Eight murmured. "But it is so, _ so _ loud."

"We've talked to the detectives already" Pearl said. She looked pissed. "So we can leave while they finish investigating."

"Where's Four?" Marina asked. "Wasn't she with you?"

"She stayed downstairs to look for clues and talk to Callie and Marie."

"Okay. Eight, why don't we go pack you a bag? There's no way you're staying here tonight."

Eight simply nodded and followed Marina. Pearl waited until they were out of ear shot before walking up to Three.

"This is bullshit!" She whispered angrily. "Why do they want our Eight so bad? And stalking her! They were fucking stalking her!"

"They did more than that. They specifically fed us bad intel so Four and I would be too far away to stop them."

Pearl's eyes went wide. "Are you fucking for real?"

Three nodded, watching one of the investigators tossing the couch cushions. This place was quickly becoming a wreck. 

"Whoever these two are, they know what the fuck they're doing."

"Okay, we're ready to leave" Marina cut in. Eight was next to her, a sizable rolling suitcase behind her. Eight looked around, her eyes wide and watery.

"Oh my cod. My home…" she whimpered. 

"Come on babe, let's get out of here." Three said softly, as she quickly wrapped her arm around Eight's shoulders. 

Marina grabbed the suitcase and Pearl started making a path through the investigators, and soon they were down the hall, passing more investigators. Even Three had to admit the sight of so many people swarming through the normally quiet building was unsettling. There were even more outside, with a special Ink Preservation Unit to preserve the evidence of battle. Caution tape kept onlookers back, along with a line of rolling curtains. Three presumed they were to block anyone from seeing Pearl and Marina and the Squid Sisters. She felt a hand gripping her arm, fingers digging in painfully. She looked down to see Eight, staring at the crowd through the gaps in the curtains, eyes wide in panic.

"W-why are there...so many…" she said breathlessly. She was starting to hyperventilate. Fuck.

Marina leaned over and whispered to her. "Three, we need a plan, fast."

"I know, I know, but we still need to find the others!" 

"Over there," Pearl said, pointing to a van with heavily tinted windows. "I think I see Four." 

The van was parked under a drooping tree, making it hard to see the person beside it, but Three recognized Four's orange boots.

"That's her, come on." She gently tugged Eight along, Marina and Pearl right on her heels.

"Four!" Three called as they got close to the tree. Four stuck her head out between the branches and looked around quickly before ushering them through.

"Finally. I was getting worried." Four said as they started piling in the van.

"Where are we headed?" Callie asked from the driver's seat.

"Somewhere quiet. Eight is on the verge of a panic attack." Marina replied. Callie nodded, starting the van and driving off.

"Is the Manta Maria in rotation today?" Three asked. Eight had buried her face in her side. 

"I don't think so" Four said.

"Doesn't matter," Pearl said. She pulled out her phone and made a call. "Hey, clear the Manta Maria. I don't care, I'm booking the entire place. Yes, right _ now _you dipshit. Thank you."

"Why are you spending a ridiculous amount of money to close the boat?" Marie asked, glancing back at them from the front passenger seat.

"Eight loves the sea. And it's fucking quiet, and there will be food. I figured that was what Three was going for when she asked."

"The food!" Eight suddenly cried. "Oh, I burned the food! What if it burns the whole apartment down? We have to go back!"

"Eight, breathe! Breathe honey." Marina said soothingly. "When Pearl and I showed up, I saw that the oven had been and turned it off."

"This day could not get any worse!" Eight wailed. 

Three held her as much as the tight seating could allow, and Eight turned, crying softly into her shoulder. Three felt a tight knot of fury form in her chest. Those rogue Octolings would pay for the grief they were creating. The rest of the ride was relatively silent as Eight fell into a fitful sleep. 

"Let me get out first since I made the reservation." Pearl said as Callie pulled into the parking lot. She jumped out, calling to the Maria's employees. A collective sigh filled the van. 

"I don't think I've been this stressed since our last fight with DJ Octavio." Callie groaned.

"Oh, please. You were fighting _ with _ DJ Octavio. You had the easy job of just singing and looking fresh." Marie quipped.

"Excuse me, but if we're talking about workload, Three and I actually, ya know, _ fought _ DJ Octavio."

Marina leaned toward Three. "Goodness, don't you all sound like siblings, bickering about how much you all work together!" She said with a chuckle. 

Three snorted. "I guess." She smiled. "They're great actually. Don't tell them I said that."

Marina laughed. "My lips are sealed."

Pearl swung the door open. "Alright, we're all set, come on."

"Oh, thank cod," Callie said. Her, Four and Callie clambered out the van together, still arguing playfully. 

Marina started to get out and then stopped. "Do you need a minute?" She motioned to Eight. "We can wait for you two, it's no problem."

"Thanks, Marina."

Marina nodded and shut the door behind her, leaving Three in the silent car with a sleeping Eight. 

"Hey," Three said softly, gently shaking Eight awake. "We're here."

"Mm. Where are we?"

"The Manta. I figured going to the water might help. Pearl, uh, commandeered it."

Eight snickered. "Of course she did."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Eight sighed. "I feel like I could've dealt with it if it weren't for all those people."

"Yeah, I feel you." Three looked out the window and caught sight of Four and Pearl doing cartwheels. "You ready to go out there?"

"Yes, I think so."

The Manta Maria usually held meals below deck, but Pearl had managed to get them to set up a table on deck. Pearl had also, apparently, _ heavily _ tipped the restaurant's string quartet to play for them. It was shockingly tranquil compared to the chaos just half an hour before.

"Okay, so," Marie spoke. "As much as I'm sure we'd all like to avoid discussing the absolute _ clusterfuck _ we dealt with today, I'm pretty sure one of you is basically homeless."

"_ Marie _," Four and Callie said simultaneously. Marie shrugged. 

"Sorry. But we do need a safe place for her until we can catch those two Octarians."

"Eight can always stay with us" Pearl chimed. 

"No way." Three cut in. They all turned to look at her. "Think about it. If they attack _ your _ place, it's gonna be more than just a few detectives and twenty onlookers. It'll be an international _ scandal _."

All four idols paled. 

"Oh."

"I hadn't even thought about that."

"Our careers would basically be over."

"Exactly," Three continued. "It's one thing to disguise you and ride around in a plain white van. You can hand wave it as impersonators or something if anyone gets suspicious. But an attempted kidnapping at your actual house? It would blow your cover instantly."

"So what's the alternative?" Callie asked. 

"I want to stay with Three." Eight said softly. 

"Me? You want to stay with me?" Three said stupidly. Somehow she had not included herself in the options on the table. 

"That's actually not a bad idea. Considering no one actually knows where you live." Marie said. 

"Unless you don't want me to?" Eight asked.

"No!" Three blurted out. "No, of course you can stay with me!"

Four snickered and laid a hand on Three's shoulder. "Three, you are so goddamn hopeless."

Three shook her head as everyone chuckled. "Okay, well now that that's settled, what are we going to do about these Octolings? They're already escalating; it's only a matter of time before they try taking her in public, like from the Square."

"Ugh, yeah, that would cause it's own problems." Pearl added with a grimace.

"Well, they already managed to feed us bad intel once," Four added. "They'll probably try it again, or some other type of distraction."

"She said we were the best stealth unit in the Octarian army." Eight said meekly.

"Is that right?" Marina replied thoughtfully. "Eight, what were their numbers? I'm going to see if I can get any intel on them. We need to start trying to get ahead of them instead of just playing catch up."

"719, and 227. 227 is the squad leader."

"Okay. I'll get working on that tonight."

Callie yawned. "I don't know about you guys but I'm beat."

"Yeah, I think we all could use some rest." Four said.

Everyone murmured in agreement. Cabs were called for everyone but Callie and Marie, who left in their van. Eight pulled Marina aside as they stood outside the Manta Maria waiting.

"Hey Marina? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Eight, always."

"Do you...see sounds?"

Marina gave her a look that was hard to read. "No, I don't. Do you?"

"Yes, as colors. I thought at first that maybe it was because of my time in the Metro." She looked down, kicking a pebble across the concrete. "But then 719 said she could taste them. And I thought maybe it was Octarian related."

"I don't know if it's something strictly Octarian related. But it does have a bit of prevalence in Octolings."

Eight looked up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes, but it's not the same for everyone. It's… like a crossing of wires. In the way the brain processes stimuli."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you see sound as color. I see letters and numbers as different colors, and in a sort of map in space."

"R-really? But you said-"

"I said I didn't see sounds, which is what you asked me." Marina chuckled. "It's called synesthesia, and it's what made engineering so easy for me. You can spot a lot of things when the numbers are the wrong color, or run clockwise when they should be counterclockwise."

"That's amazing." Eight said, stunned. Synesthesia. It had a name. It also made her wonder if some Inklings had it too.

A yellow cab pulled up, and Three waved her over, before putting her suitcase in the trunk. Marina, Pearl and Four watched as Eight and Three got in.

"Hey, Eight." Marina said, holding the cab door open. 

"Hmm?" Eight replied. Marina looked...sad? 

"You know, I can look your name up too. All I would need is your number…"

"Oh, um." Eight hesitated. Did she want to know? Did it matter? 

"You don't have to make a decision now. Just something to think about. I won't do it without your permission." She shut the door before Eight could respond.

As the cab pulled away, she felt Three's hand slip into hers, entwining their fingers. She gripped Three's hand. It felt like an anchor in the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another dialogue heavy chapter! Next one is gonna be less angsty...maybe... hope you guys enjoy!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, finally an update! And on Christmas Eve! This one is dialogue heavy, but I hope you enjoy it!

_ Internal Document 3985 _

_ Octo Valley _

_ Correspondence to Octo Canyon _

_ \---- _

_ The primary stealth units are undermanned. There are not enough soldiers passing the trainings to qualify for stealth. Discussion with the current unit leaders about reducing the difficulty of the trainings have stalled. May need DJ Octavio to intervene. Current stealth unit numbers only allow three man teams instead of the normal five to seven.  _

_ In addition, many Octarians have suddenly gone missing. The disappearances have not coincided with the mass defection that followed DJ Octavio's battles with the Inkling Agents. We have no idea where the missing have gone. We have few leads. Stealth Units 4 and 6 have been put in charge of the investigation… _

"Hey, Rina! I'm heading out!"

Marina looked up from her laptop as Pearl approached. "You going out to Nantai?"

"Yeah," Pearl replied, giving her a quick kiss. She looked at the screen and made a face. "Geez, are you still doing that? You've been at it for a couple days."

Marina sighed and rubbed her temples. "Yeah, I know. But the stealth units actually have some decent security around them. I think I might have found something else though."

"Oh yeah? What did you find?"

"Correspondence that includes mention of missing Octarians. Two of the stealth units were in charge of investigating."

"Ooookay, why is that special? A lot of you left after hearing the Calamari Inkantation."

Marina shook her head. "No, this is different. It specifically says  _ they didn't leave _ . I think… I think this may be Kamabo Corp."

Pearl's eyes went wide with shock. "Holy carp. Do you think maybe Eight's unit was one of the ones investigating?"

"Maybe. It would explain how they figured out she was in Inkopolis. If they tracked her to the Metro, they would have tracked her out too."

"We have to tell everybody."

"We will," Marina said with a yawn. "I need more information first though. We need as much detail as possible before handing off such a massive conspiracy." 

"What you need is some sleep." Pearl said as she closed the laptop. "What's that you used to say to me when I first started writing? Trying to write without sleep is like trying to get dressed while hogtied?"

"Not even close!" Marina laughed. Pearl cupped her cheek and kissed her. She sighed and deepened the kiss, causing Pearl to groan before pulling away.

"Hmm. Maybe I should join you in bed."

"No way, if you scream indoors, we'll be replacing every window in the house, and probably all of our neighbors too."

"And served another noise ordinance." Pearl snickered. A car honked outside. "Oh, that's the driver. Guess I should at least let him earn his money."

Marina giggled. "Yes, go, I'll take a nap."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

******

Three swam through her team's ink towards the middle of the battle area in Urchin Underpass. Despite having made significant gains driving the Tower across the field, the enemy team had managed to push them back toward the center and now they were in overtime. Only one person from her team, a male Octoling, was holding down the Tower, and he wasn't going to last long.

"This way! This way!" He cried, right before getting splatted. That was fine, Three was already on his location.

"Shit!" One of the opposing Inklings said, jumping out of the way of her Splat Bombs. He swung his Slosher at her, high and wide, which she easily dodged. 

_ Sloppy _ , she thought, splatting him. 

"Take her down!" Another Inkling yelled, firing a charger shot at her. A third Inkling was jumping onto the tower, swinging her Dynamo Roller as she went.

"Oh no you don't!" Three shouted, tossing a splat Bomb at her.

"Eat ink!" The Charger user yelled. His shot went wide.

"If you're gonna main charger, you should learn how to fucking shoot!" Three yelled, taking out his teammate. He growled at her, firing several shots. 

Three jumped onto the Tower, narrowly avoiding his wild shots, and spotted five Super Jump rings. Two were the opposing team's colors, while the other three matched her ink.  _ Fucking finally _ . Spawning always slowed down in over time.

"Just give up!" The enemy Inkling shouted, firing at her again.

"Over my dead body!" Three said, dropping over the Tower's ledge. One of her teammates was about to land. 

_ *Click _ .*

"I've got you now," the enemy Inkling hissed, standing directly over her.

_ That's what you think _ , she thought, grinning as sheseaw which of her teammates was careening through the air. 

"This bitch empty!" Three yelled, startling the other Inkling.

" ** _YEET!_ ** " Four screamed, slamming her brush into the enemy Inkling in a vicious downswing. He splatted as Four landed on the Tower, and the match end whistle finally sounded.

Three groaned in exhaustion as they trudged back to the Spawn Point. "Remind me to never do this X Rank bullshit again without properly warming up first."

"I told you it was intense!" Four said grinning. She was limping slightly, which, given her multiple Super Jumps during the match, and her awkward landing a few minutes ago, was unsurprising.

"I don't know what I expected, but mostly professionals was not it." 

"Well, that's your own fault. It's the highest rank in Deca Tower, where else would they go in the off season?"

Three shook her head as they resurfaced in Deca Tower's Upper Spawn level. "Fair enough, but holy hell, I haven't been splatted that much in ages." 

Four made a face before letting out a small belch. She looked a little gray, like she might get sick.

"You okay?" Three asked worriedly.

"Ugh. I think the respawn nausea is hitting me. Probably shouldn't have had that Galactic Schwaffle before the match." She replied, letting out another belch. All the color drained out of her tentacles, and she covered her mouth. "Oh, cod" Four groaned. Fuck, she really was going to be sick.

"Heads up!" Someone shouted, and Three managed to catch the empty plastic bucket that had been tossed to her. She handed it to Four just in time, as the poor Inkling lost her lunch. Three patted her back awkwardly. A quick scan of the room showed that Four wasn't the only one suffering at least. 

The Octoling boy from their match approached, along with the Inkling charger main. They were both holding bottles of water.

"Hey, you ladies okay?" The Octoling asked. He smiled warmly at Four, handing her the water. 

"Thanks," she murmured. 

"It's cool. That was a pretty intense match to be honest." 

The Inkling scoffed, giving Three the evil eye. "You guys only won because he held the Tower for so long."

Three bristled. "Maybe if you were a better shot he wouldn't have held it long enough for us to kick your ass."

The Octoling cleared his throat. "Anyway, we came over to say thanks for the great match, and uh, maybe invite you to our next gig?"

"You guys are in a band?" Four rasped. She still looked pale, but her color was coming back. The Octoling smiled again.

"Yeah! We're kinda new, so we've mostly been doing small venues. We have a show tomorrow night, after battles close."

"Sounds okay, I guess," Three said. She looked to Four, who simply shrugged at her.

The Octoling handed them tickets, with the name  _ The Dead Cods _ on it, along with a warehouse number. "Well if you decide to come, bring some friends!" He looked to Four and pointed at her bucket. "There's a few Jellies near the elevator who can take that for you by the way."

"Thanks," Four replied. 

"Hope you feel better!" The Octoling said as he and the Inkling walked off. 

Three and Four soon found themselves waiting outside Deca Tower as the sun set. The air had grown chilly, and damp, as light flurries drifted down through the fading light.

"I don't remember the forecast saying anything about snow," Four said, pulling up the hood of her coat.

"Me neither." Three replied. She glanced at Four, who still looked a little gray. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. The cold air is helping."

"Good."

Four pulled out the tickets they'd been given. "So, this gig we were invited to…"

Three scrunched her nose. "Yeah, we did say we would go to that, didn't we?"

"This venue…" 

"What about it?"

"Well, it's a pop up club, for the underground scene."

Three cocked an eyebrow at her. "And what would you know about the underground music scene?"

"Tch, more than you I'd bet. You don't really stray from the mainstream stuff. I've seen your music app on your phone."

Three put her hands up with a laugh. "Alright, damn, I was just asking."

"Anyway," Four said impatiently, "I wanna go, but, like, you don't have to. I can make up an excuse or whatever."

Three searched her face, and Four avoided her gaze. She made up her mind then. 

"Nah, I'll go. Who knows, maybe Eight will like it too."

Four let out a sigh, and Three caught the ghost of a smile. It reminded her of the fact that none of them seemed to really have that many friends. She wondered if Four had any friends who shared her interests. A car started honking loudly, startling them. It was a black limousine, with a crown emblazoned on the side. 

"Is...is that Pearl?" Four asked, eyes wide. The passenger window rolled down and Pearl leaned out of it.

"Hey there my squidscicles! Get in!" She yelled. Three and Four glanced at each other, before shrugging and getting in.

"What up y'all?" Pearl rasped as the limo pulled off.

"Cripes Pearl, what happened to your voice?" Three asked. "You sound like you chain smoked an exhaust pipe."

"I was up at Mount Nantai for my voice practice, no bigs."

"Why would you go to Mount Nantai and not the studio?" Four asked. 

"Well, I, uh, tend to break things when I get too loud."

"What, you mean like those opera singers that can shatter a wine glass?" 

"Exactly like that," Three chimed in, "except it's less like singing and more like a sonic boom."

"That's…. Kind of terrifying actually," Four replied, a little shell-shocked. 

"You should see me when I got my Princess Cannon! It's sick yo." 

Three laughed. "Yeah, no,  _ that _ was terrifying. You literally took out a giant laser capable of destroying the city with just your voice and a modified Killer Wail."

" _ What _ " Four squeaked, bug eyed.

"Yeah, shit was nuts."

"I-I need more information than that."

"Totally! But maybe when I get my voice back," Pearl replied sheepishly.

They rode in silence to Four's neighborhood, which actually wasn't far from Eight's apartment. Four hesitated at the door. She looked nervous.

"Um. Pearl?" 

"Hmm?"

"Um, do you like, ya know,  _ heavier _ bands?" The words suddenly came tumbling out of her then. "Like, metal and other underground type stuff? Cause like, we got invited to a gig at a death metal pop up and like, it's totally okay if you don't-"

"I'll be there." Pearl said with a bright grin. Four gaped, her mouth bobbing like a fish.

"Y-you will?"

"Yeah, just gimme a ticket for me and Rina!"

Four looked like she might cry and scream in the same instant. She handed Pearl two of her tickets, and then bounded up to her apartment building. Three watched her go as the limo pulled away.

"Hey, Three, lemme ask you something." Pearl said, clearing her throat.

"Shoot."

"Does Four have a lot of friends? Like besides us."

Three grimaced. "I honestly don't know. She goes to Inkblot, so maybe she has friends at school, but she never talks about it. At least not to me."

"Inkblot, huh? They tend to be a pretentious bunch up there."

"So I've heard."

"Are you and Eight going to this gig?" 

"I told her we would," Three replied, stretching. "It would be new music for Eight too. Maybe she'll like it and then they'll have something else to bond over."

Pearl nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Where am I dropping you off at? Marie and Callie told me how secretive you are about where you live."

Three blushed. "Hey, it's for safety!"

Pearl grinned. "Well it's certainly working now, what with the bullshit those Octolings are pulling."

"Ugh, don't even remind me. Has Marina found anything?"

"Maybe. Some report or something. Have you talked to Eight about what happened at her place?"

Three sighed. "No, not yet. I didn't wanna push the issue yet. I wanted her to kind of get settled first, you know?"

Pearl nodded. "I get that." She looked at the tickets in her hand. "You know, I think we could all use this night out," she said, waving the tickets. "You got anymore of these? I'll invite the Squid Sisters."

"Yeah, sure," Three said, handing over two tickets. She chuckled. "Man, these guys are gonna flip if they recognize you."

Pearl grinned. "Ya know, I haven't stage dived in a while."

Three burst into laughter at that.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That wraps up this chapter! I may post a Christmas special! Is there some Agent 24 Christmas fluff you'd like to see from me? Feel free to leave a comment about it!


	13. Christmas Special!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the Christmas Special I promised! It's outside of the main continuity for the most part. I hope you enjoy!

Eight woke to the smell of sugar cooking, and the sound of the wind howling outside. She wasn't ready to get up, but her growling stomach propelled her out of the bed. As she walked through the livingroom, she heard Three's voice drift from the kitchen.

_Sleigh bells ring, _   
_are you listening?_   
_In the lane, _   
_snow is glistening_   
_A beautiful sight_   
_We're happy tonight_   
_Walking in a winter wonderland_

The wind howled outside again, and Eight saw that the balcony door was a sheet of white. What in the world? Three continued to sing, oblivious to the strange phenomenon.

_Gone away is the bluebird_   
_Here to stay is a new bird_   
_To sing a love song_   
_While we stroll along_   
_Walking in a winter wonderland_

Eight peeked into the kitchen. Three was standing there, wearing headphones and rolling out a sheet of what looked to Eight like soft chocolate on the counter. It smelled heavenly. There was a tray on top of the stove that held what looked to be little brown squids and octopi, with red and green icing legs and colorful chocolate candy eyes.

_In the meadow, we can build a snowman, _Three sang_._  
_We'll pretend that he is Parson Brown_  
_He'll say, are you married?_  
_We'll say, no man_  
_But you can do the job when you're in town_

Eight snuck past her in octopus form, reaching for one of the little octopi on the tray. It was.... a cookie? She sniffed it, smelling spice and sweet icing, before licking it. It was a cookie! She glanced at Three, who was now using metal shapes on the rolled chocolate. She continued singing as she worked.

_Later on, we'll conspire_   
_As we dream by the fire_   
_To face unafraid_   
_The plans that we've made_   
_Walking in a winter wonderland_

Eight quickly ducked out of the kitchen, contraband cookie in hand. She bit off one of the legs, briefly imagining it screaming in horror with a chuckle. Despite its color, it was not chocolate, but bursting with ginger and cinnamon flavor. It was so good! She quickly finished it off, and then snuck back to the kitchen. She needed another one.

Three was busy cutting the gingerbread, her secret Christmas playlist blasting through her headphones. _I hope Eight likes these_, she thought to herself. The recipe was her great aunt Lucia's, and she was the only one of her siblings or cousins who knew it. Even her mother and uncle didn't have this recipe. Three sighed, thinking about how many times she'd made gingerbread in her great aunt's kitchen, making a mess of icing and brown sugar and flour. She had been the only one to accept Three's coming out immediately, and had been so excited when she told her about Eight. A copy of the gingerbread recipe had arrived in the mail a few days ago, with a sassy note from aunt Lucia saying that the recipe was used by the girls in their family for years to bring luck in relationships, her grandmother had used it, as well as her mom, and maybe her pretty girlfriend would find them just as delightful as her father and grandfather and great uncle did. Three shook her head, smiling at the silliness of it.

She turned around to put the cookie dough in the oven and stopped. Hadn't there been twelve cookies on that cookie sheet? She counted only six. She popped the fresh batch in the oven and counted the tray again. There were definitely only six here. She could've sworn she'd made twelve. Oh well, she thought, placing the cookies on the snowman shaped serving plate Four had bought her. There were about a dozen already stacked on the plate, and she only had one more batch to finish. She began rolling out the dough again, humming away as she had been all morning. Today was the perfect day for so much baking due to the blizzard outside, and she had plenty of hot chocolate and marshmallows, and movies for them to watch. Three smiled at the thought of spending the whole day with Eight. Hopefully a make out session or two would be in store as well...

A loud clatter startled her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Eight, standing in front of the stove. She looked like a cat who'd been caught stealing the ham, two gingerbread cookies in her hands and another between her teeth. She took off her headphones and stared at Eight in bewilderment.

"Eight?"

"Ith not whuf ith looks like" Eight mumbled around the cookie. Three burst into laughter.

"It looks like you got caught stealing cookies"

Eight swallowed the rest of the cookie and smiled sheepishly. "Okay, so it's exactly what it looks like."

"Did you steal the ones off the tray?"

Eight looked at the cookie sheet guiltily. "Yes."

Three shook her head and laughed again. "Well I'm glad you like them, but maybe don't eat them all? How long have you been up anyway?"

"But they're so good!" She replied, biting into another cookie. "I've been up for like an hour? Maybe? I don't know, I've just been focused on stealing cookies."

Three chuckled, turning back to the cookie dough she'd been working on. "Okay. Well, no more. Get some actual breakfast."

"Aww." Eight slipped her arms around Three's waist. "How long have you been up? You've clearly been at this for a bit."

"Couple hours. I figure today would be a good day for it, what with the blizzard outside."

As if on cue, the wind howled outside, rattling the balcony door and windows.

"A blizzard?" Eight asked.

"A snowstorm, lots of wind as you can tell."

"What's snow?"

Three stopped cutting the gingerbread and stared at Eight in confusion. "You don't know what snow is?"

"We don't get much weather in the domes."

Oh. She turned around to face Eight again. "Well, it's like, frozen rain? But each snowflake is perfectly unique. You can't see that without a microscope though."

"Interesting. What does it look like?"

"Well, it's white, sometimes it gets hard as a rock, sometimes it's fluffy and soft. Kind of depends on how cold it is."

"Is that what's on the windows and balcony then?"

Three nodded. "Yup."

"Huh. That's very interesting."

Eight laid her head onto Three's chest, listening to her hearts beat. She could stay like this all day.

Except she wanted another cookie.

"Hey, Three?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we watch Squiddy Poppins? We haven't watched it in a bit."

"Of course! My plan was movies and hot chocolate all day."

"And cookies?" Eight said hopefully. Three snickered.

"Yes, yes, and cookies."

Eight grinned and kissed her. Three sighed, smiling into the kiss as Eight tasted like gingerbread and icing. Then, after what seemed like way too short a moment, Eight pulled away, grinning mischievously.

"What?" Three asked. Eight held up another cookie.

"Another one for me!" She said before scampering out of the room.

Three rolled her eyes and laughed as she went back to making the gingerbread. She loved that silly Octoling.

*****

By the time she finished all of the cookies, the blizzard had calmed, and Eight wanted to go outside to see the snow.

"Please, Three! I want to know what the snow is like!"

"Ugh. It's cold and wet, isn't that enough?" Three whined. Still, she was pulling on her boots as Eight bounced by the front door. She already had her coat and boots on and was wrapping a scarf around her neck.

"I hope it's the soft kind! Can I lay in it? Is it edible?"

Three couldn't help but smile at the Octoling's excitement. She had barely tugged on her hat and coat when Eight shot out the door and down the hallway.

"Eight! Slow down!"

"No! Hurry up instead!"

Three caught up with her as she stood just outside of the apartment building, eyes wide in amazement. She couldn't blame her, for it was a beautiful sight. The ground was completely covered, all the way out to the street, in pure, unbroken white. The full moon cast pale blue light across it, causing the snow to sparkle like tiny diamonds. Fat flurries were still falling, like shifting feathers from the sky. 

"Oh..." Eight breathed.

"Yeah..." Three replied, staring at Eight. Three found her to be a more beautiful sight than the snow. Her face turned up to the sky, gray eyes full of wonder and emotion. The moonlight brightening her soft, brown skin. Three snuck her phone out and took a picture, wishing, briefly, that she could pause time and make this moment last forever.

Eight carefully stepped into the snow, immediately sinking down to her knees. 

"Oh! It's cold!" She said with a laugh. 

"I told you!" 

Eight stuck her hands in it, throwing the fluffy white stuff into the air. Three snickered, starting a video recording as Eight continued playing. 

"Don't get too wet or you'll get sick!" She called, as Eight threw herself into a snow bank. 

"But it's fun!" Eight replied, her head completely covered in snow. She rolled around some more, clearly having the time of her life.

Three sighed as Eight finally trudged back towards her. She looked like a walking snow ball, and started dusting herself off and shaking snow from under her coat. 

"I am very wet." She said matter-of-factly.

"I can see that," Three replied, dusting snow from the Octoling's tentacles. She was starting to shiver, as the cold really set in. "Come on, let's get back upstairs and dry you off."

Back in Three's apartment, Eight was busy drying off while Three poured piping hot cocoa into mugs. A handful of mini marshmallows and a plate full of cookies joined them on a tray. Eight was waiting on the couch in fluffy pajamas, bit she was still shivering, arms wrapped around herself.

"Here, sit," Three instructed her. She wrapped a big blanket around her, followed by handing her a mug. Eight took a small sip, her nose and cheeks still rosy from the cold. 

"Thank you," she murmured, taking another sip.

"Did you have fun?"

Eight flashed a bright grin. "Yes!" 

Three smiled. "Good." She turned the tv on, selecting Squiddy Poppins from the Crabflix menu.

"Three?" 

"Yeah?"

Eight pouted and rubbed her arms. "I'm still cold. Warm me up?"

Three chuckled, pulling Eight onto her lap. The Octoling smiled and snuggled into her with a sigh. 

"Better?" 

"So much, yes." 

Three kissed the side of her face, feeling more content than she had in a long time. "Good."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I'm soooo sorry for the long update! I hope you guys had a good holiday season! We're getting to the climax of the story I think, so I hope you're excited! And I promise that there won't be so long of a break between updates again lol.

Four was nervous. Which was actually a really big deal for her, because she was, as her mother had once put it, "more reckless than a kitten on its first life". Hell, she had followed a stranger down a sewer grate her first day in Inkopolis. But splatting Octarians and saving Zapfish didn't require anyone getting to know her that well. Much less judge her taste in music. She certainly had enough of judgement about her clothes and music to last a few lifetimes. Especially at school…

Four shook her head. No. Three and Eight weren't like that. She had to believe that. She glanced at the dark shop window, her reflection barely visible. She tugged her skirt down a bit. She was going to just enjoy tonight, she told herself. Not fret over possibly losing her only real friends…

***

"Come on, Three! We're going to be late!" Eight scolded. Three muttered under her breath about long legged Octolings, before catching up to her. 

"She's not going to leave without us." Three replied. Eight threw a glare over her shoulder.

"It's not about her leaving! It's about her thinking  _ we aren't coming _ ."

"I think she knows we're not gonna just leave her hanging Eight."

Eight stopped and gripped Three's shoulders, a serious expression on her face. "Three. She already told you this is something she hides. She's taking a huge personal risk. If she thinks we won't show, how will we ever regain her trust?"

Three gaped, unsure how to respond. She honestly hadn't thought about it that deeply.

"Now, come on!" Eight said, jogging ahead. 

Three followed on her heels, the cold night air filling her lungs. They were close to the warehouse district by the pier, so most of the shops in this area were closed. Still, there were a few people mulling about, dressed in dark clothes and crazy ink colors. Most of them were too tall to be Four though. Had she already gone to the venue?

"I think that's her!" Eight said, pointing towards a small Inkling leaning against a street lamp. The Inkling was nearly invisible in her black clothes, except for her golden tentacles, which were mostly tucked under her black army beret. 

"Four!" Eight called as they walked toward her. The Inkling spun around, her orange eyes going wide, followed by a bright grin. 

"You came!" She cried, running up to them. 

"Of course we did!" Eight chirped.

"Damn, Four, you look pretty badass," Three said with a smirk. 

Four glanced down at her outfit, black jeans with chains and spikes, a black and gray sweater under a black leather jacket, and her beret. 

"What's that, Three? A genuine complement? Color me shocked." Four quipped, rolling her eyes. Three didn't miss the flush of gold across her cheeks though. 

"Come on," Eight said. "Pearl and Marina said they would meet us at the venue."

*****

The music pumping through the warehouse was quite different than what Eight normally listened to. It was sort of similar to Diss-Pair in that the bands on stage employed similar growling (and sometimes screaming) vocals, and were heavy on electric guitar and drums. The colors were more saturated too, crimson and violet and cobalt. Combined with the strobe lights, it was pretty disorienting. Four however, was elated.

"Can you guys believe how packed it is?" She shouted. Three scrunched her face. 

"Yeah, like a pack of sardines! What time are those guys supposed to perform?"

Four shook her head. "Not sure! Let's find Pearl and Marina first!"

Four and Three started walking, when Three realized Eight wasn't following. Three turned back to see Eight, swaying to the music in a daze. 

"Eight!" Three called, grabbing her hand. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

Eight blinked at her. "Ah, sorry… it's very hard to concentrate in here."

"Stay close to me!" Three shouted over the music. Eight nodded and they started moving through the throng of dancers to catch up to Four.

Four, to her credit, had found Pearl and Marina. Pearl was gesturing animatedly, and her voice managed to cut through the club's noise.

"...haven't hit up one of these in a long time! You should've told me sooner, Four!" Pearl said as Three and Eight walked up.

"How was I supposed to know you were in a  _ death metal band _ !" 

"You were in a death metal band?" Three asked. Pearl spun around grinning. 

"Fuck yeah! Whaddya you think I got these sweet threads for?" She replied, gesturing at her outfit. She wore a ripped black tank top, with a mesh shirt underneath, black jeans ripped at the knees, a studded belt and matching wrist bands, a heavy, tarnished chain and tall black platform boots. She definitely looked like she could've been apart of any of the bands onstage.

"You guys having fun?" Marina asked. She wore her tentacles in a ponytail, and an oversized black and green sweater over dark grey leggings embossed with black skulls.

"We only just got here actually," Eight replied. Four was grinning ear to ear.

"I'm so glad you guys are here!" Four exclaimed. Pearl grinned again. 

"Yeah! Sucks that the Squid Sisters couldn't come, but they had an interview about their new album over in Jelly City in the morning."

Suddenly the crowd started cheering. They all turned to look at the stage, as a spotlight beamed onto a familiar looking Octoling boy.

"Oh! It's them! The Dead Cods!" Four exclaimed. 

The drummer, a Lobster that looked way too big for his set, started pounding out a beat, as the Inkling boy started laying out riffs on his electric guitar. The Octoling stepped up to the mic and started singing, his voice soft and melodic. His voice was the color of brass, Eight noted. It didn't really mesh well with the saturated colors of the instruments. Or at least, not until he let out a rasping, polished gold scream that cut through the instruments like a knife. It was almost indescribable, and the back and forth between softer vocals and screaming was disorienting. It was also wicked fresh in a different way than the pop music she was used to. 

As the band leaned into their set, Three realized she was enjoying herself. Pearl and Marina were dancing, Four was air guitaring,  _ like a total nerd _ , she thought to herself. Even Eight was jamming, although she still looked a bit out of it. She pulled Eight close, who teetered into her arms. 

"Do you need a break?" She shouted over the music.

"Maybe!" Eight shouted back. So that was a yes. 

Three tapped Pearl on the shoulder, and pointed to one of the catwalks that led outside. "I'm taking Eight for a break!"

"Okay!" She yelled. Then she grinned mischievously. "I'm going to the mosh pit! Tell Marina!"

Three nodded as Pearl waded through the crowd. She told Marina the same thing, and half carried Eight to the catwalk, and the open fire door. Outside, the air was cool, and noticeably quieter. There were a couple Inklings and Octolings on the stairs of the fire escape, but they paid no mind to Three and Eight.

"You okay?" Three asked.

"I think so," Eight replied. She sat down, while Three leaned against the rail. "I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't that."

"I know, right? It's kinda fresh though."

"It is! It also makes me really, really dizzy."

"I can only imagine," Three replied. "What does it look like?"

Eight smiled. "Really saturated. Reds, blues, purples, the normal colors I get for guitars and drums and stuff. I think it might only be so bright because it's live, as opposed to a recording."

Three nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"That one Octoling, his voice is  _ bright _ when he screams like that."

Three laughed. "Well don't high notes or whatever get bright like that?"

"Sort of? It's kind of different." Eight shook her head. "I don't really know how to explain it."

"It's okay. You feeling better?"

Eight rubbed her eyes. "I think I need a few more minutes. You go back inside, I'll find you guys easily enough."

Three eyed her worriedly. "You sure? I doubt the others would have any complaints."

Eight waved her off. " _ Go _ . You're supposed to be having fun too, not babysitting me!"

Three laughed, leaning down to kiss her. "Okay, fine, I'm going. Don't be too long okay?"

"I won't."

Three turned to go back inside, casting a glance at the stragglers on the fire escape. There was another person at the bottom, standing in the shadows. Was that a black haired Octoling? She shook her head. No, she was being paranoid. It was too crowded, and there was no way those two would have known they'd be here. She walked back into the warehouse, as the Dead Cods started another song.


	15. Chapter 15

" _ WOOMY _ !" Four shouted as they walked out of the warehouse. "That was amazing!"

Three grinned. "I admit, that was pretty good. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did."

"Yes! A new convert!" 

Three scoffed. "I didn't say all that!" She grinned. "Although I will say, you look a lot better as a creature of the night than an artsy fartsy nerd."

"Wind down you two," Marina said with a smile. 

"AWOOOOO" Pearl howled excitedly. She had dirt smudged on her arms and face. "How fresh was THAT?" 

Marina sighed and rolled her eyes. "Pearl, I thought you were the oldest one in the group." Three and Four laughed. 

"Hey, Three, do you think we can catch those guys before they leave?"

"Maybe, they're probably still inside."

The two Inklings walked back into the warehouse. A few of the bands were still packing up their gear, including the Dead Cods, who had gone on last. The Inkling boy spotted them first, and elbowed the Octoling, who turned around and grinned.

"Hey! You came!" He said. Four smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah! You guys were killer by the way."

The Octoling boy chuckled awkwardly. "Ya know, I kinda wasn't expecting you to show. You, ah, didn't look the type…" 

Three looked between Four and the Octoling, and then looked at the Inkling boy, who rolled his eyes and shrugged. She suppressed a chuckle and decided to save the Octoling from further awkwardness.

"Ya know, I don't think we ever actually got your names?" She said. The Octoling's eyes went wide.

"Oh! Shit, you're right, sorry, I'm Aaron, the crab is Guts, and this guy," he said, pointing to the Inkling boy, "is Nick."

"Sup," Guts said, before hoisting two large amps on his shoulders and walking towards the exit.

"And what do we call you ladies?" Nick asked. Three and Four looked at each other for a moment, trying to decide how to answer. 

"I'm Erika," Three said, holding her hand out. Four looked at her, shocked, before sticking her hand out as well.

"Juliette." 

The Octoling -  _ Aaron  _ \- smiled at Four shaking her hand. "Nice to officially meet you two! Are you guys -"

"FOUR! THREE! Where the hell are ya?" Pearl's shouts reverberated through the warehouse. Nick and Aaron's mouths dropped open as Marina and Pearl walked up to them. 

"Holy shit, is that  _ Off the Hook _ ?!" Nick squeaked.

Three grinned at him. "Oh yeah, didn't we mention? We know them."

The two boys let out a strangled sound as Pearl clapped Aaron on the back.

"Hey, you guys were fucking great! Do you have an agent? I know a couple people if you don't."

Marina pulled Three aside as Pearl started in on her signing pitch.

"Three, have you seen Eight? She never came outside after the show."

"What?" Three said, looking around. How had she not realized? What if she was hurt? What if she'd fallen into the water? What if- she stopped herself.  _ Don't panic _ , she told herself. Panic was how mistakes were made.

"Okay," Three said, taking a breath. "The last time I saw her, she was up on the fire escape taking a break. I thought she'd come back in. Maybe we missed her?"

"Okay, I'll check outside again," Marina said. Three nodded, and made a beeline for the catwalks.

_ Where is she, where is she, where is she? _ She thought, climbing the metal stairs. She threw open the fire exit door…

...Nothing. 

The wind howled past as Three stared at the empty fire escape. 

******

Pastel blue and green spots danced along to Turquoise October's  _ Shooting Starfish _ as Eight came to.  _ Where am I? _ She thought to herself. She opened her eyes slowly; a soft blue light shined up from the floor, illuminating the gray, rusted metal ceiling.  _ The domes _ , she realized. She was in the domes. She sat up, her head throbbing, and tried to look around. Which was difficult, as she couldn't fully turn her head. That probably had something to do with the ache in her neck. How did she get here? She tried to think.

_ Three laughed, leaning down to kiss her. "Okay, fine, I'm going. Don't be too long okay?" _

_ "I won't." She replied. Three glanced briefly down the fire escape before going back inside, as music poured out into the night before abruptly cutting off again. _

_ Eight sighed, dropping her head on her knees. Her head was still fuzzy. The same thing happened in the Square, when there was too much noise. She did like the music, but it being so encompassing in the club, plus all the people, and the lights… it was too much. Footsteps on the fire escape. She didn't look up, just scooted over to let them pass. Whoever it was stopped beside her though. _

_ "Need a smoke?" The stranger asked. _

_ "No, thank you" Eight replied. _

_ "You sure? I find it helps me relax. Might take the edge off your headache at least." _

_ Why did that voice sound familiar? _

_ "I'll be fine, thanks." She replied curtly. _

_ "Are you sure about that 585?"  _

_ Eight looked up in shock, to see 227 standing over her. She leapt up, ready to super jump, when 227 grabbed her and put her in a tight headlock. _

The last thing she remembered was choking and then darkness. She hadn't even had the chance to scream for help. She got up slowly, the springs in the dorm mattress creaking forlornly. The walls were cracked and stained, and the floor had numerous missing tiles. The floor lights were dirty and flickering, and wires hung from the ceiling where light fixtures had fallen. The weapons rack leaned precariously against one wall, a few Octoshots and a Charger balanced expertly on its shelves. Sadness welled up in Eight's hearts. She didn't remember her dorm room looking  _ this _ bad. What did the rest of the domes look like, if just the dorms for top operatives were in this state? 

She heard a murmur of voices down the hall. Eight peeked around the door frame. 227 and 719 were talking to a pair of Twintacle Octotroopers. The sound of Octolese gave her a pang of nostalgia. She was so used to hearing Inklish after reaching the Surface. Even Marina rarely spoke it anymore, mostly only when singing. She watched the two Octolings finish their conversation, and ducked back into the room as they turned around. She was sitting on the bed as they walked into the room.

"You're awake!" 719 exclaimed. 227 leaned against the doorframe as 719 pulled Eight into a hug.

"No thanks to 227," Eight replied hoarsely.

227 scoffed. "Oh, please. Like you would have come quietly."

"You were kidnapping me!" 

719 wrinkled her nose. "We were  _ rescuing _ you. Those Inklings outnumber us, how else could we get you back?"

Eight sighed. "They weren't a danger to me!"

"They're  _ always _ a danger! Or did you forget all the years fighting them?" 227 sneered.

Eight bit back a retort. Arguing with them wasn't going to work. She needed to change tactics.

"How did you guys even find me?" She asked. The question had been burning in her mind ever since the orchestra concert. 

"We were assigned to investigate the disappearance of several other operatives. We tracked them to some company called  _ Kamabo Corp _ ."

Eight flinched. Ten thousand years would be too soon to ever hear that name again. 719 put an arm around her shoulders. "We searched their files. Found out you were one of their test subjects."

"Okay…" Eight replied slowly, "and you just, what? Scoured Inkopolis for any sign of me?"

"Essentially," 227 replied. 

"But, why?" She gestured around the room. "This place is falling to pieces. It's not livable!"

"So we fix it from the inside!" 719 blurted. "It's why I never understood why you left!"

"What?" Eight asked, shocked. 

719 glared at Eight. "I heard the Calamari Inkantation too. I know we can't live like this anymore! But I wasn't going to just abandon everything!"

"I wasn't trying to abandon you!" Eight cried.

"But you did," 227 retorted. "Well, at first. Not your fault you got kidnapped after that."

719 gripped Eight's shoulders. "It's all a moot point anyway." She said with a smile. "You're back, and we can work on recovering your memories, and start planning with the science teams on how to build better living conditions!"

_ Oh no _ . Eight thought to herself.  _ No, no, no, no _ . She briefly thought back to 719 kissing her at her apartment, and felt a sharp pang in her chest. 719 was in love with her.  _ No,  _ she thought,  _ she's in love with a ghost _ . Eight was not 585, not anymore. Even if they managed to get all of her memories back, she would never be the same person. And then there was Three, and the life she'd been building in Inkopolis. She gently pushed 719 back.

"719 -"

"Well," the red headed Octoling cut her off, "that's probably getting way ahead of ourselves isn't it? You need rest, and we need a plan to recover your memories first." She stood up, and, before Eight could say anything, had shoved a musty blanket at her.

"Get some rest. We've got a guard stationed in the hall in case you need anything." 227 said. Then they both left, leaving Eight alone.

****

"I know you can hear me Three."

Three ignored Marie's voice in her ear. She was eyeing an Octosniper through the sight of her Hero Charger. She didn't normally use long range weapons, but Four was investigating another lead. 

" _ Three _ -"

** _SPLAT._ **

There went the Octosniper. Three turned her comm back on. "Can't you babysit someone else?" She snarked. "Your sister maybe?"

"Cousin. And no, Callie is with Gramps in the Metro."

"Then go check on Four."

"I did, and unlike you, she hasn't spent the last two days shiskababing Octarians without a break."

Three sighed. "It has  _ not _ been two days." 

"Uh huh. When was the last time you slept?"

"Before I came out here."

"That was two days ago."

Three rubbed her face and groaned. She had to find Eight. That was the only thing that mattered right now. Sleep could come later. She said as much to Marie.

"Okay," Marie said slowly. "Say you find her. Do you honestly think you're in any shape to fight off two Elite Octolings with a vested interest in killing you?"

_ No. _ "Yes." Three replied.

"You're a terrible liar Three."

Three growled in frustration. "What the hell do you want me to do? I can't just leave her!"

"Bitch, who the fuck said that? Cause I certainly didn't." 

Three blinked. Marie rarely cursed. Actually, she  _ never _ cursed. 

"Look," Marie said in a clipped tone, "I know you're worried. But we know they aren't trying to hurt her! And DJ Octavio is still in our custody, so it's not like he's gonna be throwing hypno shades on her. And the last thing anyone wants is for you to die because you're being an idiot."

"Marie-"

"Please come home and rest. We'll find her, okay? You can't rescue her unless you're at the top of your game. We can handle the rest."

Three felt tears welling in her eyes. That's right. She had a team behind her. Goofy as they were, they had always been reliable. 

"Okay," she said, sniffling. "I'm on my way back to the Outpost."

Marie sighed in relief. "Good. I'll see you in a few." Marie closed the comm link, and turned towards her Hero Charger. It was time to get some information that was actually useful. 

DJ Octavio glared out over Octo Canyon, the curve of the snow globe distorting the view. One would think he'd grow claustrophobic, but being able to see out from all angles helped to mitigate the crushingly small space, at least visually. He had spent many a day worrying about the Octarians, especially since some of them had started to disappear when he'd stolen the Great Zapfish for a second time. He didn't know who had defected and who had been stolen from the domes. Despite how easy it would be for him to escape, he had stayed in self imposed exile as a sort of atonement for his poor leadership. 

"Hey, fishbreath," a voice said behind him. "We need to talk."

"And what, exactly, would you and I need to talk about girl?" He replied, still staring out at the canyon.

A thump on the glass. "Two of your Octojerks kidnapped my friend's girlfriend. I need to know where the hell they might be hiding."

He scoffed, turning around to face Marie. "What makes you think I know?"

"They're one of your spy op teams."

DJ Octavio folded his arms, hiding his surprise. If one of his stealth teams had managed to evade the New Squidbeak Splatoon, that was information he could use. 

"Again, what makes you think I know where they are?"

"Easy, you're not a  _ complete _ idiot. And we've been all over the Valley and Canyon already. So they must be hiding somewhere else."

The DJ scoffed. "You've nothing to leverage me into telling you anything."

Marie gave him a fiendish grin, holding up her Hero Charger. "See, that's where you're wrong. I have a vested interest in protecting those important to me. And I will do whatever it takes to see it done."

She kicked the base of the snow globe, causing it to open partially, and then stepped forward so she was right in the DJ's face. 

"Whether it's convincing some kid off the street to join me-", she said, pointing her charger right at his eye, "-or putting a dangerous criminal through the deep fryer."

DJ Octavio gulped as the snow globe closed behind Marie, locking them both into the tight space.


	16. Chapter 16

Three, Four, Cap'n Cuttlefish and the Squid Sisters sat aboard the Deepsea Metro, tensely clutching their weapons. Marina and Pearl had stayed behind to run intel. The Cap'n was giving Callie and Marie a short rundown of the Metro. Three glanced over to Four who was texting.

"Talking to Octoboy?" She asked. Four blushed and put her phone in her pocket.

"A little. He's nice."

Three smirked. "Nice, huh? Y'all were certainly making eyes at each other at the club."

"Ugh, whatever!" Four replied. Three snickered.

"Is your name really Juliette?"

Four scrunched her nose. "My mom is like, really obsessed with ancient human stories. Her favorite is some dude named Shakespeare. So me and my brothers are all named after characters he wrote."

"Wow. Your mom is a fucking nerd."

"I know, right!" Four shook her head. "Aaron seems to like it though…"

Three nodded. "He better. Or I'll give him the work over."

"Oh my cod, Three, don't start pulling that big sister shit."

"I could always tell your brothers."

Four's eyes went wide. " _ No _ . Don't even think about it."

Three laughed, and glanced over at Callie and Marie sitting across from them. "It's kind of a shame though, that you and Marie-"

"Don't," Four said with a grimace. "Marie and I couldn't work. She knows that even if we were to get together and break up later, the paparazzi would never leave me alone, and I'd get more than enough of their attention as a pro turfer. Besides," she said with a shrug. "I'd just embarrass her anyway."

Three started to reply when C.Q Cumber announced the next station. It was their stop; J-line, stop number seven. The Inklings filed off the train to the platform. They looked around, noting the two sets of stairs leading up from the platform. One had the Kamabo Corp logo next to it.  _ Probably the test station _ , Three thought to herself. She shivered. Thinking about where those stairs led reminded her of the creepy shit she'd seen down here. 

"So where are we going?" Callie's voice cut through her thoughts. They all turned to Marie, who was nonchalantly looking through the notes on her phone.

"DJ Octavio said that we had to walk from this station about ten minutes to reach Octo Ravine. That's where a lot of the Octoling units are deployed from."

"Ya know," Marina said through their comms. "You never explained how you got Octavio to give up such sensitive information."

Marie examined her nails, a bored expression on her face. "We had a very straightforward conversation, where I expressed to him the...  _ urgency _ of the situation."

Callie and Cap'n Cuttlefish exchanged a look. "Marie-," Callie started.

"Quiet Callie." Marie said firmly, her expression cutting off any further questions on the subject. 

Well that was way weirder than normal, Three thought. She pointed towards the second set stairs, which were covered in graffiti. "Those are the stairs we want."

The others nodded, and they all ran up the stairs.

********

_ Fill my head with sickly beats _

_ It's black and white, a frightful sight _

_ You've clipped my wings, can't dance or sing _

Eight's head throbbed, and her vision swam with washed out colors. The constant playing of Turquoise October's music was really messing with her. It had only been a couple of days, and yet she felt like the songs were drilled into her brain, smothering any other music she tried to think of. She even heard the songs in her dreams; it was relentless. She trudged down the hall towards the commissary, her Twintacle Octotrooper guard following close behind. She was rarely left alone, which made it nearly impossible to plan any kind of escape. Even when she got a few minutes alone, someone was always waiting, always watching. The commissary was crowded for once, as several of the Octoling squads were off duty. The sound of their voices blended into the music, becoming an indecipherable drone.  _ How do they listen to this everyday?  _ She thought to herself.  _ How did I? _

"585!" Someone called out to her. Eight spotted 719 waving to her. She suppressed a shudder. She didn't want to be anywhere near the red head Octoling. Her voice was the only thing she could hear clearly over the godawful music and it unnerved her. She found herself sitting down next to her anyway.

"Hey," she said as way of greeting. There was a male Octoling at the table, one she didn't recognize. 

"This is Darius, from the research department." 719 pointed at the male Octoling.

Eight stared at him. "Okay."

"He's gonna help you get your memories back!" 719 exclaimed. 

"719…"

"It's a completely safe procedure," Darius interrupted her. "You'll be sleep the whole time, it'll be like watching one of those high speed animations. You'll wake up with all your old memories integrated into your new ones."

_ That sounds too good to be true,  _ Eight thought. "I'll think about it." She replied. Darius nodded, and left the table. 719 rounded on her.

"What are you doing?" She whispered harshly. "Why did you say you would think about it? There's nothing to think about!"

"They're my memories. I can do whatever I want with them," Eight replied.  _ And I don't trust any of you to not brainwash me. _

"Don't you want to remember who you are?" 

Eight sighed. "Yes, I would love to remember my past. But I've been through enough since I left that I still wouldn't be the same person I used to be."

719 tapped her fingers on the table, quietly fuming. "It's that stupid Inkling isn't it?"

"What?"

"That green one!" 719 hissed. "How did that bitch even get all cuddled up on you anyway?" 

_ She's talking about Three. _ "Don't call her that."

"She's the enemy!"

"She saved my life."

That seemed to startle 719. "What?"

"Yeah," Eight replied. "When I was stuck in Kamabo Corp. She saved me from getting blended into a giant vat of goo."

"Wow. Well, I guess a stopped clock is right twice a day or something."

"I never took you for the jealous type."

719 made a face. "I'm not  _ jealous. _ I just don't understand how you could gain feelings for the enemy." The Octoling reached forward and gently gripped Eight's hand, a plaintive look on her face. "Look, I'm sorry. I just… feel like I failed you. I regret not leaving with you that night."

"719…" 

She shook her head. "I always wonder if maybe I could've protected you from whatever happened at Kamabo if I'd just gone with you."

Eight sighed. Something about the way 719 was looking at her made her more sympathetic. The regret was real. That was still no excuse for the things she said about Three. She didn't have the energy to argue anymore though. 

"Can you get me some food?" She asked. "My head is killing me."

"Sure!" 719 said, jumping up. "Anything for you."

*********

Three and Four worked their way back to the camp they had made in the Ravine. Cap'n Cuttlefish had stayed behind while they and the Squid Sisters had started exploring. Since none of them knew anything about Octo Ravine, they had paired up to be safe.

"How are you guys holding up?" Pearl asked through their comms. 

"Ugh," Callie replied. 

"I never knew there were so many Octolings." Marie said.

"I'm hungry." Four whined. Three rolled her eyes.

"Callie, Marie, did you guys clear your kettle?" Three asked.

"Yeah, no sign of our particular Octoling though."

"Dammit!" Three kicked a rock over the cliff edge. It bounced a few times before falling straight down into the darkness.  _ Where was she? _

Four put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Look, we'll meet back at the camp and trade intel, see if we can cobble together a lead alright? We'll find her."

Back at the camp, Cap'n Cuttlefish was stirring a pot of what smelled like stew. Callie and Marie were busy cleaning their weapons as Four and Three approached.

"Hey Gramps, what's cooking?" Four asked. The Cap'n smiled and waved the ladle around.

"Lobster stew! With lots of veggies!" 

"Sounds delicious!"

"Good, cause it's the only thing he can cook" Marie quipped. The Cap'n huffed and went back to stirring.

Callie opened her laptop, and a picture of Marina and Pearl popped up on the screen. 

"Okay ladies, what did you guys find?"

"This place is fucking huge," Three said, as she plopped down next to Callie.

"Tell me about it! It's as big as the Canyon and Valley combined." Four whined. 

"It's not really bigger, the Ravine just goes deeper underground" Marina said. "It's also the older of the Octarian settlements, so there's a lot more decay and breakdown going on."

"If that's the case, why does anyone even live there?" Callie asked.

"That's…" Marina hesitated. "The dynamic between Octarians and Octolings is complicated. We needed our own space."

"Okay, well do you have a map or something? Cause we can't keep going on wild goose chases."

"That, we do have," Pearl cut in. "Which ones did y'all clear today?"

As the others relayed what they had found, Three stared out at the ravine, thinking about the old research lab she and Four had been investigating. It had, as Four put it, "super creepy horror movie vibes", with its flickering lights, crumbling ceilings and dirt smudged holding tanks. Three had spent almost the entire recon suppressing the urge to scream as they passed what were clearly old, failed experiments on power eggs and Octarian tech. It reminded her too much of Kamabo and the vats of green Sanitizing goo and the  _ mutations _ and…

Cap'n Cuttlefish handed her a tin cup full of stew. It was thick, and brown, and full of chunks that had started to leech their color. She dropped it and ran off, retching behind a tree. 

"Three?" She heard one of the girls calling after her. She spit, trying to clear the taste from her mouth. She was supposed to be stronger than this. She  _ needed  _ to be stronger than this. Eight needed her to be stronger.

"Are you alright, Agent Three?" Cap'n Cuttlefish said from behind her.

"I'm sorry about the stew," she replied hoarsely. "I didn't mean to waste it."

"Don't avoid my question young lady."

Three sighed and turned to face the old timer. "Four and I hit an old research dome today. It… reminded me of Kamabo a little bit."

"Ah. And I take it that made my stew rather unappetizing in appearance?"

Three grimaced. "I'm sure it's delicious gramps."

The Cap'n chuckled. "No worries, I take no offence. As my granddaughter said, it's the only thing I can cook well. I've made much scarier things as I'm sure you remember."

Three couldn't help but snicker. "Yeah, you totally burnt those fish we caught at the Cape into kindling."

"Hah! I most certainly did! Now come, I'm sure Callie has some of those protein bars or something that you can eat."

As they went to rejoin the others, Three said a silent thanks that he hadn't asked her  _ why _ she'd gotten sick suddenly. And said another one when he rebuffed the others worried questions. 

"Now, now girls, you all need your rest. Did you figure out where we were headed next?"

"Deeper into the Ravine. We've been hitting stuff close to the top, but Marina thinks we need to hit the one near the bottom" Four said. 

"We'll need to find a new spot for camp then," Marie added. She slurped her stew, and then set it aside and dug around in her pack. "Here, Three," she said, tossing what looked like a snack bar to the green Inkling.

Three caught it, followed by two more bars. She was a bit startled to find that they were her favorite brand, CoralBars, and in her favorite flavors, strawberry squid cake, double chocolate, and squid fin lemon.

"Marie, you just, had these on you?" she asked incredulously. Marie just shrugged and flashed her usual impish smile.

"I keep snacks for everybody. Honestly, you all would forget your own heads without me."

Callie snickered. "Yeah, you and Marina certainly take your Team Mom roles seriously!"

Three chewed her snack bars while the others talked. The strawberry squid cake would probably make really good pancakes. She would just need strawberries and whipped cream to make them for Eight…

Eight. It had been four days since those two Octolings had kidnapped her. She hoped they hadn't hurt her. What was she eating? Was she sleeping? The domes out here were in such bad shape. They couldn't possibly be safe everywhere. Four nudged her gently, a soft look on her face.

"Hey, we'll find her, okay?"

Three sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I know we will."


	17. Chapter 17

It was cold. That normally wouldn't bother Eight so much, if she had a proper blanket. The threadbare sheet she had was definitely not cutting it though. 719, in the bed across the room, propped herself up on her arm, the blue floor lights casting an eerie glow under her green eyes. 

"Cods, I can hear your teeth chattering from over here."

"S-shut up," Eight replied, curling up as best she could. 719 snorted, before getting up and crossing the room, her own worn sheet in hand.

"Move over."

"719- "

The red head Octoling shoved her over, before flopping onto the bed, throwing both sheets over them. She pulled Eight closer, and Eight felt immediately warmer. 

"719, get out of my bed."

"Oh, stop it would you? You were cold, now you're not."

"You know that's not the problem!"

"Look," 719 said irritably, "I know you and that Inkling had a fling,band that it'll take some time for you to get over it. But what am I doing? Trying to keep you from dying of hypothermia! Any friend would do that."

Eight started to protest, but she wasn't sure what to even say. She'd cuddled under blankets with Marina, Pearl and Four during one of their Pancake Nights. It felt like 719 was sidestepping any argument she had, but Eight wasn't sure how to put it into words. 

"Do they not feed you?"

"Huh?" Eight replied, the question startling her from her thoughts. 719 squeezed her arms around Eight's waist.

"You were not this thin when you left. I'm wondering if they feed you up there."

Eight blushed. "I eat. It's just, sometimes I forget."  _ Nevermind the lack of food in the Metro _ .

"Well, tomorrow we start training again. Cause damn, you got weak!" 719 chuckled. 

*******

"So, what's the plan?" Callie whispered. The NSS was perched on a rock shelf overlooking the entrance to the largest dome in Octo Ravine. 

The entrance was guarded by four Octolings, each one armed with a different weapon. There were also Octosnipers and Octocommanders positioned on tall rocks, while Deluxe Octobombers and Octotroopers floated overhead. It was better guarded than Cephalon HQ had been.

"Damn, the Octolings don't play around do they?" Four whispered, astonished.

"No, they don't," Marina replied, her voice overlaid by static crackling through the comms. "It's one of the reasons people leaving or disappearing was a big deal. There's not many of us compared to the rest of Octarian society, and so losing one of us has a big impact relatively speaking."

"We need to take them out without direct confrontation or setting off an alarm." Three said.

"Four and I can take the snipers and air units out no problem," Marie added.

"Guess that leaves you and me to fight the Octolings" Callie said to Three. Three smirked, and gave Callie a fist bump. 

"This'll be fun."

_ SPLAT! _

Four nailed the Octocommander right in the back, drawing the attention of the other Octarians to its former location.  _ Splat! _ One of the Octotroopers bit the dust next, courtesy of Marie's pale green ink. The Octoling guards started shouting in Octolese, pointing at the disappearing grunts and the rocks above them.  _ Probably trying to pinpoint our location _ . 

"So," Marie said, splatting another Octotrooper. "I hear you're dating someone?"

"Uh,"  _ splat! _ Down went another Octosniper. "We're just talking. Haven't gone on an actual date yet."

"I see,"  _ splat! _ Marie took down an Octobomber. "Pearl is a terrible gossip."

The Octoling guards were in a frenzy now, their Elite directing them towards the rocks. As soon as they got close to the wall, Callie came out swinging with her Hero Roller. Three super jumped from behind another rock, landing a splashdown behind two of the other Octolings, splatting them. The Elite started firing her Octoshot, but it was too late. Callie and Three splatted her easily. They high fives and then gave a thumbs up to where Marie and Four were perched on the rock shelf. 

"Well, if you two do start dating, I'd like to meet him." Marie said. Four scrunched up her nose. 

"He would probably faint if he found out I knew both Off the Hook  _ and  _ the Squid Sisters."

Marie grinned, "so what? That's the least of your secrets anyway."

Four groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Cod, you're right. Ugh. Come on, let's get down there."

"Okay, so, how do we get inside before those Octojerks respawn?" Marie asked once they regrouped.

Marina's voice came over their comms again. "I got that part." The floor over the dome slid open, a platform rising up with blinking lights.

"Man, even old Octo tech is boss as fuck," Three remarked. Marina chuckled.

"Thanks. Get on the platform. If it's open too long, it sets off an alarm."

The Inklings did as they were told. Static crackled through their comms again as Marina spoke. 

"You guys are probably gonna lose me once you're inside. You should still be able to talk to each other, and I sent the layout of the dome to your phones, but if you run into any issues, I'm not gonna be able to help much."

"Understood," Callie chimed. 

"We got this," Four added. The platform started to lower.

"We didn't spend two days climbing down a cliff to fail." Marie said. 

_ I'm not leaving here without Eight, no matter what _ , Three thought to herself. 

"Be careful," Marina said as the dome's panel closed over their heads.

*************

Eight panted as she ran the obstacle course again. 227 had her running drills, 'to see how lazy you've gotten in your training'. She leapt onto an inkrail, taking out targets as she glided across it. She felt like she was doing one of the tests in the Metro again.

"Come on 585, you have to keep up!" 719 called from further up the course. Eight gritted her teeth. When she had said they would start training again, she figured they would do something easy. Not run the gamut five times in a row. 

"Pay  _ attention  _ 585!" 227 yelled, lobbing a splat bomb at her as she hit the end of the rail.

"Fuck!" She cursed, feeling the sting of 227's ink on her arm as she dove behind a wall. She slammed into the concrete, her back pressed into the cold stone. 

"Barracudas, 585," 227 said from the other side of the wall. "Your form is atrocious. You'd barely pass the exam like this." Eight kept still, her whole body trembling from exhaustion.

"In fact," 227 continued, "I think you would _fail_ _the test_ for special ops the way you are now."

Fail…the test? Eight sucked in a shaky breath. She couldn't fail. She couldn't…

_ You ran out of time - Test Failed _

_ You took damage - Test Failed _

_ You dropped the objective - Test Failed _

Eight clutched her head, a feeling of panic quickly rising in her chest. She was hyperventilating but all she could hear was CQ Cumber's voice in her head.

_ Test Failed, Test Failed, Test FAILED, TEST FAILED. _

She felt a hand on her shoulder "585?" 

"NO!" Eight screamed, swinging her Octoshot as hard as she could. It connected with a  _ crack _ , followed by cursing as she fled the training room. 

She had to get out of here. She couldn't take anymore tests. She rounded a corner, taking a moment to breathe. She needed a plan. She needed-

"585!" 227 shouted.  _ Fuck _ , she thought to herself. "585, I swear I will feed you to the Salmonids at high tide if you don't bring your sorry ass back here!"

"227, chill! Something is wrong," 719 said, her voice strangely muffled.

"Would you heal up in your ink and let me worry about her?" 

Eight took off down the hallway while they were bickering. At the next hall, she looked around carefully. What level was she on? Not the stomach phase at least; there would be the creepy glass containers with Octarians being Sanitized. Eight ducked behind a fallen wall panel, trying to calm herself. She wasn't in the Metro. This wasn't one of Kamabo's tests. There was no genocidal telephone AI trying to create wipe them off the face of the earth with a cannon full of blended corpses and ink. Suddenly, she heard voices. Could 227 and 719 have caught up with her? She would have a hell of a lot of questions to answer if they had.

She peered around the panel, seeing two young Octolings walking by. She sighed in relief, and waited until they had passed before continuing down the hall. A media screen was playing one of the many recruitment videos that DJ Octavio and the research department had created. On the screen was Darius, the researcher who had promised to restore her memories. The video played as she snuck past, peeking down the next hall.

_ "Young members of our amazing society!"  _ The virtual Darius said, _ "The Octarian Army, in conjunction with the Research department, is recruiting! Elementary training begins in the spring! Are you ready to join something bigger than yourself?" _

Wait, she thought to herself. What did he say? She looked back at the screen. Was the screen's display color off? he almost looked...green…

_ "Are you ready to join something bigger than yourself?" _ The video repeated, this time, sounding almost mechanical, almost like…

The video suddenly changed, startling her, as colorful lights splashed across the screen. Victorious music started to play, a tune that would be burned into her mind forever, that she had nightmares about still. She was running again, fighting back the urge to scream. Kamabo was  _ here _ , they were stealing Octarians directly from the domes with fake training recruitment. This was her worst nightmare. She had to get out of here.

*********

Three tossed an autobomb behind the unsuspecting Octotrooper, splatting it. Four moved ahead of her, checking the hall and, when it was clear, motioned her ahead. It had taken them a full day to get this far in; the place was huge and there were way more Octolings and Octarians than any of them had expected. 

"Tripes and crawfish," Callie whispered through the comm, "it's like a walk-in freezer down here."

"Not surprising, Marina did say this was an old facility. Heating it is probably a bitch and a half." Three replied. Another corner, clear. 

She motioned for Four to head down the hallway. A quick check of the map said they were close to the training areas. There was a Spawn point not far from where she and Four were, which made sense. She caught up with Four and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Spawn point down the hall on the left." 

Four nodded. The Spawn point was easy enough to find, but like everything else, it was old, and had low density ink. They weren't going to get many respawns out of it before being booted from the dome.

"Well, at least it works," Four said as she rose from her Squid form. The Spawn registered the orange ink color she had chosen as she tapped the toes of her boots free of ink. 

"We're probably not gonna get more than three spawns out of it though."

Four pulled up the map. "There's two sets of training rooms from here, north and south. Meet back here in ten?"

"Sure. I'll take the south."

Four nodded, heading down the north hall. Three headed down the south hall, shooting ink as she went in case she needed to retreat. It was risky splitting up even further, especially since Four had a charger, but the faster they found Eight, the faster they could get out of here. And she trusted Four not to get herself captured. She turned a corner, only to immediately step back. Three Octolings were at the end of that hall.  _ Can't go setting off any alarms in a preventable fight _ , she thought to herself. She listened as their voices carried down the empty hallway.

"Don't engage if you see her. She's in some kind of panic." One voice said.

"Isn't she armed though?" Said another.

"With a training weapon, and no ink tank. Besides, she's not trying to hurt anyone." The third voice said.

"She clocked you good 719," the second voice said with suppressed amusement.

_ Fuck _ , Three thought.  _ Leave it to me to, somehow, find one of the Octos responsible for this mess in this giant ass facility. _

"Look, 585 is not a danger to anyone but herself. If you see her, call us in to retrieve her." The first voice said.

"Affirmative, 227." The second voice said. 

_ Shit, shit, shit, fuck,  _ Three thought, peeking around the corner. Yup, she had heard that number correctly. The black haired Elite and her red headed protege were both standing there, a monument to her colossal bad luck. She looked at her ink trail behind her. It was quickly evaporating thank cod, but if they came down the hall now, even if she managed to find a place to hide, they would see it and raise the alarm. 

"You're dismissed," 227 said to the third Octoling. 

Out of time. Three looked around, looking for a place to hide. There was a fallen ceiling tile she could climb through, but the only way to reach it was to ink the wall, which would give away her position immediately. She could hear the two Octolings coming down the hall. She turned to dive into her ink trail, but it had faded. There was no way she would out run them.

Shit.


	18. Chapter 18

The lights were out. That was by design of course, as Marie had specifically shut them off. Just the lights though, they still needed the Spawn points to work. Callie was rifling through a desk in the science lab they were in. The place freaked her out, as there were a lot of tubes and tanks with...things growing in them. Her comm hissed with static, followed by Four's voice.

"Am I the only one with no lights?" She asked.

"No, the lights in the whole place are down."

"What the hell happened?"

Marie smirked. "I turned them off."

"Excuse me, but  _ I _ turned them off," Callie said. "You wouldn't have even known where to find the box if I didn't read Octolese."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, Callie busted the lights, but I've been doing the bulk of the fighting over here."

"Have either of you heard from Three?" Four asked. Callie and Marie looked at each other.

"Isn't she with you?" Callie asked.

"No, we split up to cover more ground. She was supposed to meet me a couple minutes ago."

"The alarms haven't gone off, so that's a good sign." Marie replied. She peeked out of the lab into the hallway. Still clear. 

"Well, I'm going to go look for her. Four out."

"Hurry up, Callie, this place is giving me the creeps." She said, looking back at her cousin. Callie, was fooling around with a computer now, her phone connected to it. 

"Yeah, sorry. Grandpa asked me to check out if they had anything on that Kamabo Corp while we were down here. He thought it was weird that there were so many Octarians in the Metro."

"Well the longer we sit in one spot, the more likely we'll be discovered."

"Yeah, I know- fuck!"

"What?" Marie asked, peeking over Callie's shoulder. She couldn't understand the words, but there was the Kamabo Corp logo on what looked like a letter.

"This is a letter to DJ Octavio." Callie said. "In it, Kamabo says they are 'sympathetic to the needs of Octarian society'. They promise a new energy solution."

"Holy shit."

Callie nodded. "They asked for recruits to train as engineers for the new system. As well as guards for the plant or facility that's supposed to provide the power." 

"And then they turned them into zombies and ink sludge," Marie concluded. Callie nodded gravely. 

"How did DJ Octavio not realize people weren't coming back?"

"Probably because they called for recruits around the time Agent Four was trying to retrieve the Great Zapfish." Callie replied.

"So they would've assumed the missing were defectors."

"Exactly."

Marie shook her head. "This is crazy. Where did this company even come from? And to have such a setup in the Metro and the Octarians? Shit, are they targeting Salmonids too? Like how deep does this go?"

"I don't know, but -"

** _WHOOP. WHOOP. INTRUDER DETECTED. INTRUDER DETECTED. _ ** A siren started blaring, making the Squid Sisters jump. Emergency lights flashed blue, illuminating the dark in bursts.

The two Inklings sighed, sharing a knowing look. "Looks like they found our agents."

*********

"All available units in the east training wing, converge on my signal! We have an intruder!" Three heard the black haired Octoling yell. The two Octolings had rounded the corner just before the lights had gone out, and Three had taken advantage of the brief confusion to dip past them further into the facility. 

She fired ink behind her, the Octolings cursing as they dodged the blasts from her Hero Shot.  _ Thank cod they don't have weapons _ , she thought. She cut to the left, tossing a curling Bomb down the decrepit hallway, diving into it to put some distance between her and her pursuers. Three cursed, as she came up to a massive pile of debris blocking the hallway. She really was having all the shit luck today. She pulled at a chunk of drywall, and then jumped back as the whole thing started to shift forward, chunks of concrete rolling dangerously down the pile. 

"Get back here Squid filth!" Someone shouted behind her. Three glanced back, seeing figures in the emergency lights making their way down the hallway. 

Shit. Three looked back, and...was that a space? Right at the top, where the wall and ceiling met, there it was, a small, narrow space. Could she fit through that in Squid form? 

"There she is!" 

_ Whelp _ , Three thought to herself.  _ Nothing to do but to find out _ . Three fired ink at the wall and ceiling, diving into it and swimming up the wall as more shots came. The space was even smaller than it had looked from the ground. She managed to shimmy her head through, but she was definitely going to be scratched up, even with ink healing. 

"You two go around and try to cut her off if she gets through!" 

_ Fuck _ , Three thought, trying to squeeze through the space faster. But her tentacles were stuck; she needed to try and pull them through one at a time. 

"You! Give me your weapon!" 227 yelled, snatching the splat charger from the recruit behind her. She wasn't going to let this Inkling get away. The flashing emergency lights made it hard to aim, but she didn't need a perfect shot, not when the stupid squid had wedged herself into a wall.

Three managed to get two tentacles free, and started trying to pull the rest of herself through. She could hear the Octolings talking, but her ink muffled the noise, nevermind the alarm going off. She just needed to focus on getting through the wall.  _ Almost there _ , she thought, feeling just the slightest give of the debris around her. 

_ SPLAT! _

"Agghh!" Three screamed as a shot of ink slammed into her back. The force of it broke her armor and forced her out of Squid form. 

She scrabbled at the wall in a panic, the tiny space crushing her waist and ribs and making it impossible to breathe. She could hear the sound of a charger preparing another shot behind her, and if she didn't get out of this mess, she was definitely going to get splatted, and she didn't know if the spawns were still working with the lights down. None of which would matter because she couldn't fucking  _ breathe _ .

*********

Four cursed as she ducked behind a row of lockers, narrowly avoiding the group of Octarians that shuffled past. She seriously regretted not swapping her Hero Charger for her brush before they came down here. Especially now, with so many enemies swarming the place. She had to find Three, and then they could battle their way to find Eight and get out of here. 

The moment the coast was clear, she shot down the hallway. Despite the power outage, there still wasn't a heavy presence of Octarians or Octolings. The size of the facility worked as much against them as it did intruders, which right now she counted as a blessing. She followed the next group of Octolings she saw, hoping they would take her to wherever the hell Three had gotten herself caught. Four quickly ducked into a closet as a second troop of Octarians crossed with the ones she was following. She felt a pang of sympathy for them; they didn't seem to know where to go, and it was even worse with the lights out. 

_ I need a break, _ Four thought, leaning against the closet wall. All this running around was killing her feet, and her arms hurt from holding her charger. It wasn't nearly as heavy as her brush, but it was a different grip than she was used to. She sunk to the floor, rubbing her legs and stretching her body. Just a couple of minutes...

** _WHOOP. WHOOP. INTRUDER DETECTED. INTRUDER DETECTED._ **

Four jumped as an alarm started blaring, blue lights flashing beyond the closet door. Crap. Which one of her teammates had gotten caught? She was too far from the Squid Sisters to help them, but she definitely needed to find Three asap. She quickly got up, and threw the closet door open, letting the full sound of the alarm into the enclosed space. 

"No!" A squeak came from behind her. Four whipped around, startled. 

"Who's there?" She demanded, pointing her charger into the darkness. She heard a shuffle from behind some boxes, and then, right as another flash of blue light came, she saw Eight.

"Don't shoot!" She cried. She had her hands up, but quickly covered her ears again, a look of distress at the alarm.

"Holy shit!" Four replied, dropping her charger. She ran to the Octoling, gripping her shoulders. "Eight, it's me Four!" 

"Four?" Eight said weakly. She squinted against the blue lights. Four. Four was her friend. Right? She could barely think straight, what with the noise, and the lights, and the ugly black blotches the noise was making in her vision. 

"Cod, Eight, you're shaking like a leaf!" Four said. She threw her jacket over Eight, and then, thinking, put her Hero Headphones on the Octoling's head.

Eight was grateful for the headphones, as they cut some of the noise. Still, something was off. Where was  _ her _ Inkling?

"Come on, we need to find Three and get out of here!" Four said, pulling her into the hall. 

The pair ran down the hallway, following the sounds of shouting. Four grunted in frustration as the made another turn. She felt like they were going in circles, and the lights flashing made it even harder to determine which direction they were going. They hit a dead end; the hallway they had turned down was blocked by a massive pile of debris.

"You two go around and try to cut her off if she gets through!" They heard a voice shout from the other side of the blockage.

"Fuck," Four said, turning to Eight. "Come on, we need to find another way out." She grabbed Eight's hand and tried to pull her back the way they came, but the Octoling didn't budge. 

"Eight! Come on!" Four shouted, but she was staring intently at the top of the debris wall.

"Is that ink?" Eight asked, pointing at a spot near the ceiling. Four squinted, and got close to the wall. It could've been mold, but-

The smudge rippled. It  _ was _ ink! 

_ SPLAT! _ The sound of a charger went off and then a scream, as Three's armor broke and she shifted out of Squid form. She panicked, grabbing at the way too small hole she had been trying to get through, gasping for air.

"**THREE!**" Four and Eight shouted together. Four climbed up the mound of debris, her heart thumping at the sound of her best friend suffocating.

"Transform! Three, transform, now!" She said, pushing the Inkling's shoulder into what was left of her ink. "Now!"

Time felt like it had stopped as Three's eyes met hers. And then she dropped into Squid form, and Four had yanked her through the gap, both of them tumbling down to the floor. Four sat up slowly, her ears ringing. Eight was leaning over an unconscious Three, two feet away, shaking her and calling her name. 

"Shit!" Four cursed, crawling over to them. She dropped her head onto Three's chest, listening for a heart beat. Nothing. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was that thing Marina and the Cap'n had taught them? A specific technique to revive someone who wasn't breathing.

"Four!" Eight said. "We have to start CPR!" 

"Right! Okay, it was, uh, a breath and then compressions?" 

"Yes!" Eight replied. She leaned over Three again, this time looking like she was kissing her.

A shout cut through the alarm. "Get to the other side of that wall! I want that slug trail captured!"

Four started compressions, trying to ignore how quickly their window of escape was closing. She paused to let Eight give Three another breath. Nothing. She started compressions again.  _ Come on Three! Come on! _ She thought. Another breath. She could hear shouting. More compressions.  _ Please _ , Four thought as Eight gave Three another breath. 

Three gasped.

"Oh, thank cod!" Eight cried. Four let out the breath she'd been holding. Three coughed and gasped as Eight propped her up.

"Eight, try and get her to transform," she said, laying down ink around them. The sound of shouting was louder, but they needed to get Three healed enough to run.

Four peered around the corner while Eight helped Three. She could barely see down the hallway, but there was definitely a squad of Octolings moving in formation towards them. They didn't have much time left. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! This chapter took me forever because I literally wrote myself into a corner. But it's here! I think the next chapter might be the last, but I haven't decided yet! I hope you guys enjoy this one!

Three felt like she was floating. It was weirdly quiet, and dark. It was like she was dreaming, almost, but would she even know if she was dreaming? Crud, was she dead? It would really fucking suck if she was dead right now. Considering that the last thing she remembered was being crushed between a wall and a pile of cement… 

Sharp pain lanced through her body, causing her to gasp. "Oh, thank cod!" She heard a voice shout. Three coughed and gasped, feeling like a Zapfish had taken up residence in her chest. She suddenly was surrounded by a wailing siren, and being made to sit up.

"Eight, try and get her to transform," Four shouted. 

Four counted at least six Octolings coming down the hall, fast. She had already tossed three Suction bombs, blocking the hallway to buy them a few extra seconds. But they were running out of time. 

"Hey, Eight, what's her status?" Four asked, turning around. Three was emerging from the puddle of ink, and Eight was helping her stand. 

"I'm ready to fuck shit up" Three said hoarsely. She coughed and gasped. "Okay, maybe not."

"We don't have a choice" Four said, as magenta ink came flying down the hall.

"Surrender peacefully Inklings! Throw your weapons into the corridor!" A voice shouted. 

Four peered around the wall. She counted three Octotroopers, with six Octolings behind them in rows. Three Octoshots, two Splatchargers, and what looked like a heavy Splatling or a Slosher. How the hell was she supposed to get them out of here?

"Four" Three rasped. She turned to look at the older Inkling. "Throw out your charger."

" _ What _ ?" 

"It's no use down here anyway. Besides," Three grinned. "Didn't Marie give you her favorite special to carry with you?"

Four gave her a confused look. Marie's favorite-

_ Oh _ . Four reached into her pocket and pulled out a tin can. It was the Stingray, Marie's favorite special. She'd completely forgotten about it because she hardly used specials on missions. And here was Three, half dead and yet she remembered. 

"I'm giving you five seconds to surrender Inklings!" 

"Okay!" Four shouted. "We're coming out!" She chucked her Hero Charger into the corridor, where it landed with a clatter. If this didn't work, Sheldon was totally gonna kill her for leaving it down here. She stepped out, one hand stuck in her pocket. She popped the tab on the can, feeling the high pressure ink rush through her.

"Both hands up Inkling!" One of the Octolings yelled. She wasn't either of the ones they had dealt with before, but she had the kelp strands of an elite.

"I got it! I got it." Four replied, and then flung the can up, the Stingray materializing out of the ink. The Elite Octoling panicked.

"She's about to launch a special! Fire at will!"

Magenta ink started flying as Four fired off the Stingray. Two of the Octotroopers and two Octolings splatted, while the Elite Octoling and the three lower ranked Octolings fled. Four let the Stingray evaporate; she didn't need to chase them after all.

"Four, that was great! Let's go!" Eight said as she joined the Inkling in the hallway. Three was beside her, looking less like death warmed over. 

Four snagged her charger. "You look a little better Three, did some more healing?"

"Of course, I'm not stupid." She flinched and rubbed her side. "Still, I'm gonna need a doctor after this shit is over."

Their comms suddenly filled with static. 

"...ree...Fo..r! Come in! Can you read me?" Callie's voice buzzed through.

"Callie! I found Three  _ and _ Eight!" Four replied.

"That's our Four! Getting the job done!"

"We need to get out of here," Marie cut in. "Where are you? Can you meet us at the entrance?"

"Uhh…" Three and Four said together. They looked toward Eight. 

"East Training Wing" Eight replied. "I can get us to the main lift?" She adjusted her borrowed headphones. "It would be a lot easier with the lights on though."

"Callie, can you get the lights back on?" Four asked. 

"What? That's like, our only cover!"

"Yeah, but Three is injured, and Eight is already overwhelmed. We need landmarks if we don't want to go in circles."

"Ugh, fine! But you better move fast!"

"Hey, and cut that damn alarm too!" Three said. Callie cursed and then the lights flared to life. A moment later, the alarm died with a squeal. The silence was almost as loud as the alarm had been, but it was definitely better.

"Okay Eight, where do we go from here?" Three asked. Eight was about to speak when a shout came from down the hall.

"There they are!" 227 shouted from down the hall.

"Fuck, run!" Eight said, pushing them down the hall. 

The hallways were like a maze, but Eight turned corners without hesitation. They quickly lost their pursuers, but 227's shouts could still be heard. As they made another turn, Three wheezed, struggling to keep up. 

"G-guys" Three gasped, collapsing. Eight and Four turned around and ran back to her.

"Shit, sorry," Four said, slinging Three's arm over her shoulder. "Eight, get her other side."

"N-no," Three said breathlessly. "Get-get out of here."

"There's no point in me leaving without you," Eight replied. She looked at Four. "What if she was in Squid form? I think I can carry her that way."

Four nodded. "That might work. Give me her Hero Shot." Four took the weapon as Three shifted into Squid form. Eight held her like a teddy bear, arms wrapped around her. It would've been cute had they not been in a life and death situation.

"You have too many weapons to fight well" Eight said worriedly, watching Four position her charger beside her ink tank. 

"You let me worry about that." Four replied assuredly. There was a loud shout behind them.

"This way!" Eight said. Four was on her heels, tossing splat bombs behind them as they went. 

Octotroopers and Twintacle Octotroopers were following them now, and Four spotted the black haired Octoling directing more Octolings down another hall.  _ Probably trying to flank us _ , she thought. They rounded another corner and stopped for a breath.

"How much further?" Four asked, firing shots of ink down the hall. 

"Not far, it's down this next hall," Eight replied. Three squirmed out of Eight's grasp and shifted to her Inkling form. "Three, wait-"

"I'm fine. Besides, who knows what's waiting for us at the entrance." Three huffed, before taking off down the hall.

Four and Eight glanced at each other and followed. The main entrance was a mad house. Callie and Marie were pinned down behind a bunch of steel crates, and there was a swarm of Octarians around the lift they had used to get in. Three popped the tab on her canned special, and, with no hesitation, leaped into the fray. 

"Three, wait!" Four called out, chasing her in. "Your weapon!"

Three flew up in the air, and slammed back down in a spectacular Splashdown, clearing the surprised Octarians. Four stood in awe, and Marie and Callie stood up, equally shocked.

"Barracudas, Three, I knew you were fast, but that was…" Callie said, gesturing wordlessly at the end. Three, who was trying to catch her breath, gave a thumbs up.

"You!" A voice shouted. "Don't fucking move!" 

They all turned, to see several Octolings, including 227 and 719 surrounding them with weapons. Eight quickly stepped between the Octolings and the Inklings.

"227, wait. Please, this can't continue!"

"You're damn right about that." 

719 held a hand out to Eight. "Come on 585, get away from them."

Eight shook her head. "No! They're not the enemy!"

"Don't be stupid!" 227 snarled. "They've  _ always _ been the enemy! And they've been kidnapping our people!"

"No we haven't!" Four shouted. 227 fired a blast of ink at her. 

"Shut it!"

"It's true!" Eight said. "Most Inklings don't know anything about Octarians besides the Great Turf War!"

"How would you know?" 719 asked, lowering her weapon slightly.

"Look, we didn't have anything to do with kidnappings, but we know who does." Marie interjected.

"Why should we trust you?" 227 asked, stepping closer with her blaster. 

"We've got paperwork!" Callie shouted, waving a stack of paper. That caught everyone off guard, 227 momentarily lowering her weapon in shock.

" _ What _ ?"

"Okay, so it's not specifically kidnapping on the paperwork, but it's proof of who was doing the kidnapping!"

"You're joking. You expect me to believe someone was stupid enough to leave a paper trail like that?"

Eight stepped forward, and the line of Octolings behind 227 pointed their weapons at her. She stepped back and looked at 227 pleadingly. "227, have you heard of a company called Kamabo Corp?"

"Maybe. The researchers would know more about that."

"Wait," 719 said, turning to the other elite from before. "313, isn't that the place that asked for Team 6 and the 5th infantry for security?"

"Um. Maybe? That sounds right."

Callie stepped forward with the papers again. "This is a bunch of correspondence from Kamabo Corp. They're the ones kidnapping Octarians."

"Why should we trust you?" 227 asked. 

"Because I was down there," Eight replied. "It was…awful. But they're definitely the ones responsible." 

The Octolings all glanced at each other, doubt and confusion clear on their features. 227 grimaced, eyeing them.

"Fine, let's say I believe you. Why the hell are you so determined to stay with the Inklings?"

"They saved my life!" Eight replied. She glanced at Three, who was leaning on Four. "The Inklings on the surface have totally accepted Octolings. They think we're like them just with weird hair."

The other Octolings started murmuring to each other. Marie stepped forward, leaning on Eight's shoulder.

"It's true. All thanks to Marina becoming a famous pop star and all."

The other Elite Octoling's eyes got wide. "Marina? Marina is on the surface?"

"You know her?" 719 asked. The other Octoling nodded.

"She and I used to work engineering. I got transferred after she disappeared…"

"Well, she's alive, and super popular, and I bet she'd be excited to see you if you wanted to come with us." Marie said coyly. The Octoling hesitated. 227 growled and pointed her weapon at them again.

"Stop fucking with my troops." She looked at Eight. "You have a decision to make 585."

Eight looked at them, and then back towards Three and the others. She had a mix of feelings, but she had already made her decision.

"I'm leaving."

"No!" 719 cried. She looked pained. "You can't!" 

"I'm sorry 719." Eight replied. And she was, truly. She glanced at Three, who was watching her intently. Eight turned back to 719. "Maybe things could have been different...if I hadn't left. But I made a life on the surface. And I intend to go back to it."

719 looked like she would burst into tears. 227, however, was giving them a scathing look that could melt steel. The black haired Octoling snatched the papers from Callie, and then pointed to the lift. 

"Get the fuck out of my facility before I change my mind."

They wasted no time getting onto the lift. As it slowly hummed to life and started rising, Eight looked back at the other Octolings, all watching her. Except 719, who was sat on the floor, hands covering her face. Eight felt a stab of sorrow as the lift's tunnel eclipsed the view.

Cap'n Cuttlefish was waiting for them at a camp not far from the entrance. He was shocked at their state of dishevelment.

"Girls! I thought you were trying  _ not _ to get caught, not take down the whole facility!"

"Yeah, well. We're not dead, so let's just focus on that part."

Three coughed. "Easy for you to say."

Their comms suddenly crackled with static. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" Marina said frantically. 

"Oy, are y'all alive or what?" Pearl piped in. 

"Alive, but, uh, I definitely think we could all use some medical attention." Four groaned.

"We're coming to get you in the helicopter," Marina replied. 

"Awesome."

Eight sat down next to Three while the others packed up the camp. The Inkling was wheezing, and had scraped up the left side of her face. There was also a fist sized bruise on one of her tentacles, and another bruise forming along her collarbone. Even so, Eight couldn't help but feel elated at the sight of her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. Three leaned her head on her shoulder.

"Doesn't matter," she huffed, "here with you."

Eight nodded and listened to Three breathe for a moment. "I thought I'd lost you for a minute there." 

Three let out a weak chuckle. "Nah, I can't die that easily." 

Eight squeezed her hand. She sniffled, trying not to cry. "But you  _ can _ . You almost did! You're not invincible Three." She turned to her, looking her in the eyes. "I can't lose you like that, okay?"

Three swallowed thickly. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"Hey," Four said, walking over to them. "You two alright?"

"Yeah," they replied together. They glanced at each other and laughed. A helicopter sounded in the distance. Four looked back at the camp, now packed. 

"We're gonna take this stuff to the clearing over there. You two make your way over once you hear the helicopter okay?"

"Okay," Eight replied. Four nodded and walked back to Callie, Marie and the Cap'n, coordinating the bags with them.

"What are we going to do about Kamabo?" Three asked.

"I don't know. I thought after destroying Commander Tartar, we'd be done. But it seems like things might still be running even without him."

Three wheezed, holding her side. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder. "Well, we can figure that out later. For now, I think I need a vacation."

Eight chuckled, helping Three up. "A vacation sounds great. Can we go to the seaside?"

Three snorted, and planted a kiss on Eight's cheek. 

"For you babe? I'll go anywhere."


	20. Epilogue

"You've got some nerve, calling me here."

Three glanced towards the red headed Octoling that had spoken as she reached the top of the stairs. 719 was leaning on the pier's metal and wood railing, her dark sunglasses blocking out the setting sun's rays. A black leather biker jacket and faded black jeans completed her ensemble. Her tentacles were decidedly shorter than the last time, curling just below her ears and falling around her face. As much as Three was loathe to admit, 719 looked hot as fuck.

"What's up with you Octolings and leather? I know it's durable, but you all look like you're modeling for a bike magazine." She grinned. "Or maybe a magazine with more… specific tastes."

719 smirked. "You tell on yourself Agent Three." 

"Try not to read too much into it." 

719's expression grew more serious. "What do you want? If you came to rub it in my face that you won…"

Three shook her head. "No. Geez, I'm not  _ that _ petty."

"It's not fair."

"Ya know, I would say 'that's life', but really, y'all have been getting the shit covered end of the stick for awhile now, huh?" 

719 growled, shoving away from the railing. "Tch, I didn't come here for your pity."

"I wasn't offering pity." Three replied. "In fact, I came to give you some critical information on Kamabo."

The Octoling crossed her arms with a skeptical look. "I thought 585 was the one who'd been captured by them?"

"We both were." Three hesitated, before continuing. "She was sent down to the Metro where she was a test subject in their physical tests. She didn't see the labs or any inner workings of the place."

"So where did  _ you _ go?"

The image of a bright light and blue and green faces with surgeons masks flashed in Three's mind. Another image quickly followed, a glint of light reflecting off a scalpel, a squirming mass on a table in a sterile, white room. Three shuddered.

"The specifics aren't really important. I spent most of my time focused on finding a way out, and simply gathered intel while I was at it." She pulled a usb out of her pocket. It was, ironically, blue and green, and shaped like an octopus. "This has all my notes, the pictures I took, and whatever research Marina had as of yesterday."

719 took it from her, looking at the small object dubiously. "Thank you… although, I don't really understand why you're helping us."

"Nobody deserves the shit that goes on in that place. And honestly, Eight would be heartbroken if anything happened to you."

719 grimaced at the mention of Eight. "Yeah, right. I doubt she thinks about me. She has you after all."

Three scoffed. "Don't be an idiot. She still cares about you even if she's not romantically interested. You were the first thing she remembered when her old memories started to come back."

That seemed to catch her off guard. "You're lying."

Three rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. That makes so much sense," she said sarcastically. "Look, believe whatever you want, but us Inklings don't actually hate you. If it weren't for Cap'n Cuttlefish, Agent Four and I wouldn't have even known about Octarian society. Most Inklings couldn't care less so long as you're chill."

719 couldn't really argue with that. She held out her hand. Three looked at it briefly, before taking it and giving a firm handshake.

"Take care of her or I'll kill you."

"Of course. Don't make me have to come rescue you." Three replied. She turned to leave, and then stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot one last thing."

"Which is?" 719 replied curiously.

Three slugged the Octoling in the jaw, knocking her to the ground. 719 hissed, clutching her busted lip.

"What the hell!"

"That's for kissing her. And kidnapping her." 

719 hissed again. "I didn't expect her to tell you that."

"She's the honest sort. Felt guilty as hell for not telling you to fuck off."

"Well, I guess I had that coming." 719 said, standing and dusting herself off. She bared her fangs at Three. "But the next time you hit me, I'll beat you into the ground."

Three shrugged, the cold fury in her eyes betraying her nonchalance. "That's fine. Cause it'll be a fight to the death." Three turned away, her scarf whipping in the howling wind as she walked down the stairs.

*****************************

Eight hummed as she flipped pancakes onto a large serving plate. The smell of breakfast permeated her apartment, while the sound of laughter drifted in from the living room. After the detectives had finally let her back after concluding their investigation, Marina and Pearl had spent a considerable amount of time and money having the place thoroughly cleaned, and the oven replaced. She sighed thinking about it. The oven had been….well. One should never leave half cooked chicken in an enclosed space that long. She thought back to the first day she'd been in the apartment since then as she started scrambling eggs.

_ "The next time I decide to do something risky, remind me that I hate hospitals and never, ever want to spend two weeks in one again." Three said irritably. Eight giggled as they got out of the car in front of her apartment building. It was a nice day, sunny and breezy, and the birds were chirping. A truly idyllic backdrop to Three's bellyaching.  _

_ "Seriously, I know I had like, organ damage and shit, but I really don't think two weeks was necessary. And why aren't we going back to my apartment? Although the super probably changed my locks again." _

_ "My apartment is bigger and more comfortable, and the doctor wanted someone to keep an eye on you for a few more days." Eight replied as they walked down the quiet hallway. Then, the last part of Three's rant caught up with her. "Wait, why on earth would your super change your locks?"  _

_ "Oh, don't even get me started," Three started, as Eight tried not to think about the last time they'd walked down this hallway. About the brusque way the detectives had asked their questions about 719 and 227, the way the crime scene investigators had turned her apartment upside down, and the fingerprint powder smudged over every surface… She shook her head, clearing the image from her mind. _

_ "- and that was just the last time he changed my locks." Three said. "The first time -" _

_ "Three," Eight interrupted, "I am regularly astounded by your sometimes awful interpersonal skills, but the fact that you've been forcibly locked out of your apartment more than once is….impressive. And not in a good way." _

_ Three rolled her eyes. "It's not always my fault! The last time was totally self defense."  _

_ "You're ridiculous," Eight laughed, as they reached her door.  _

_ There was a tan mat in front of the threshold, the word 'welcome' written in a cursive font. On the door was a floral wreath, white and pink flowers contrasting with her dark-blue door. Both objects were definitely new and not something Eight would have necessarily picked, but it screamed of Marina, who probably just wanted to make it feel welcoming. As she pulled out her key, she paused. Now that she thought about it, would it even work? She hadn't considered the possibility of the locks being changed until just now.  _

_ "Eight? You alright babe?" Three asked worriedly.  _

_ "Um. All this talk of locks and keys made me realize I didn't ask if my locks had been changed…" _

_ Three burst into laughter, her usually emerald voice turning a grassy green. Eight sighed; between her time in Octo Ravine and Three recovering, she had come to miss the sound of the Inkling's laughter. She leaned in and kissed her, Three's giggles melting away as she wrapped her arms around her, returning the kiss. After a moment, Three pulled away a little, a roguish smile on her face. _

_ "You know, you should probably try your key." _

_ "Why?" Eight asked teasingly. "Are you really so eager to get inside?" _

_ Three hummed and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Well, I have missed you. Like a lot." _

_ Eight blushed. "Three, surely you aren't suggesting what I think you are! You just got out of the hospital!" _

"You're gonna burn that if you aren't careful" a familiar voice said, cutting through her thoughts. Eight turned her head to see Three walking into the kitchen.

"Three! When did you get back?"

"Bout five minutes ago" the Inkling said, wrapping her arms around Eight's waist and resting her chin on her shoulder.

Eight started scraping the eggs onto a plate. "How was she? Did she show?"

"Surprisingly yes, she did. She was pretty cranky, probably because she hates my entire existence. Also I punched her, but that was it."

"You  _ punched _ her?" Eight asked incredulously. Three shrugged.

"Yes. You weren't gonna do it." 

"Three…"

Three kissed her cheek and started grabbing plates. "Come on, everybody's waiting on the grub." 

Eight sighed as she grabbed serving plates full of pancakes. No reason to ruin everyone else's fun by starting an argument about Three's penchant for physical confrontations. 

A cheer went up as Eight brought out the pancakes. She grinned happily as all her friends squeezed around the table, loading plates with food, their chatter melding into a colorful cloud in her vision. If someone had told her back in the Metro that she'd have such a wonderful, rowdy group of friends, she wouldn't have believed it. But here they were, having a pancake party, laughing and teasing each other. They had even invited the members of the Dead Cods. 

"Callie seems to be getting along with Nick," Marina giggled as she filled her plate next to Eight.

Eight snickered. "Leave it to her to be the only straight one in the group." 

Pearl nudged her and pointed at Four, who was sandwiched between Marie and the Dead Cods Octoling lead, Aaron. "Looks like Four is going for broke over there."

"I heard that!" Four shouted, blushing gold as everyone laughed.

"Okay! Does everybody have food?" Three called over the din. "What movie are we watching? I've got Salmonzilla, Mission Inkpossible, and uh, one of those superhero movies, the Fantastic Squid Squad!"

More shouts as everyone settled around the living room. They finally settled on Mission Inkpossible, and, after starting the movie, Three settled on the couch next to Eight, throwing her arm over the Octoling. 

"You okay?" Three asked, her voice full of affection.

The movie's theme song started, causing everyone else to start enthusiastically singing along with it, and dancing in their seats. Eight laughed at the silliness of it. 

"Yes," she replied. "Never been better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter wraps up a Rainbow Octave! I'm sorry it took so long to get out, but, well, I really struggled with how to end it, because I liked writing it so much! I hope you guys like the ending, and enjoyed this story!


	21. ????

_ Location: Kamabo Co. Somewhere Underground. _

_ Time: 02:00 _

_ Lead Researcher: Darius _

_ Research Notes #4503 _

_ It appears that the Sanitized Octarian drones used in the testing of Subject 10,008 have grown unstable. From what we can tell, their interaction with her somehow disrupted the process and restored fragments of memory. Contaminated drones have since been terminated. Fortunately, the Octarian breeding process is short and favorable for replication and replacement of terminated drones.  _

_ Recovery of test subject 10,008 is considered high priority. Procurement of Inkling test subjects are also high priority, as the Sanitization process has yet to be tested successfully on their kind. More Octoling subjects must also be procured as they are in high demand by Test Design for the more difficult tests.  _

_ \----------- _

_ Location: Kamabo Co. Somewhere Underground. _

_ Time: 05:34 _

_ Lead Researcher: Darius _

_ Research Notes # 5119 _

_ The primordial ooze has been refined even further, despite lack of guidance from the commander. This has proven extremely advantageous; it's use in the Sanitization process has not only increased the strength of Sanitized soldiers, but also the efficacy and speed of healing when submerged in ink. It appears to shorten their lifespan however. This is a flaw that requires more research... _

_ We've also begun attempts to restore the Commander in earnest.  _

_ \----------- _

_ Location: Kamabo Co. Somewhere Underground. _

_ Time: 23:19 _

_ Lead Researcher: Darius _

_ Research Notes # 6189 _

_ Despite the age and decay of his metal exterior and difficulty sourcing replacement of internal parts, the Commander is recovering... _


End file.
